A. The State Board of Elections shall promulgate standards for (i) the properhandling and security of voting and counting devices, ballots, and othermaterials required for a recount, (ii) accurate determination of votes basedupon objective evidence and taking into account the counting device and formof ballots approved for use in the Commonwealth, and (iii) any other mattersthat will promote a timely and accurate resolution of the recount. The chiefjudge of the circuit court or the full recount court may, consistent withState Board of Elections standards, resolve disputes over the application ofthe standards and direct all other appropriate measures to ensure the properconduct of the recount.
The recount procedures to be followed throughout the election district shallbe as uniform as practicable, taking into account the types of ballots andvoting devices in use in the election district.
In preparation for the recount, the clerks of the circuit courts shall (a)secure all paper ballots and other election materials in sealed boxes; (b)place all of the sealed boxes in a vault or room not open to the public or toanyone other than the clerk and his staff; (c) cause such vault or room to besecurely locked except when access is necessary for the clerk and his staff;and (d) certify that these security measures have been taken in whatever formis deemed appropriate by the chief judge.
B. Within seven calendar days of the filing of the petition for a recount ofany election other than an election for presidential electors, or within fivecalendar days of the filing of a petition for a recount of an election forpresidential electors, the chief judge of the circuit court shall call apreliminary hearing at which (i) motions may be disposed of and (ii) therules of procedure may be fixed, both subject to review by the full court. Aspart of the preliminary hearing, the chief judge may permit the petitionerand his counsel, together with each other party and his counsel and at leasttwo members of the electoral board and the custodians, to examine any directelectronic voting device of the type that prints returns when the print-outsheets are not clearly legible. The petitioner and his counsel and each otherparty and their counsel under supervision of the electoral board and itsagents shall also have access to pollbooks and other materials used in theelection for examination purposes, provided that individual ballots cast inthe election shall not be examined at the preliminary hearing. The chiefjudge during the preliminary hearing shall review all security measures takenfor all ballots and voting devices and direct, as he deems necessary, allappropriate measures to ensure proper security to conduct the recount.
The chief judge, subject to review by the full court, may set the place orplaces for the recount and may order the delivery of election materials to acentral location and the transportation of voting devices to a centrallocation in each county or city under appropriate safeguards.
After the full court is appointed under § 24.2-801 or 24.2-801.1, it shallcall a hearing at which all motions shall be disposed of and the rules ofprocedure shall be fixed finally. The court shall call for the advice andcooperation of the State Board or any local electoral board, as appropriate,and such boards shall have the duty and authority to assist the court. Thecourt shall fix procedures that shall provide for the accurate determinationof votes in the election.
The determination of the votes in a recount shall be based on votes cast inthe election and shall not take into account (a) any absentee ballots orprovisional ballots sought to be cast but ruled invalid and not cast in theelection, (b) ballots cast only for administrative or test purposes andvoided by the officers of election, or (c) ballots spoiled by a voter andreplaced with a new ballot.
The eligibility of any voter to have voted shall not be an issue in arecount. Commencing upon the filing of the recount, nothing shall prevent thediscovery or disclosure of any evidence that could be used pursuant to §24.2-803 in contesting the results of an election.
C. The court shall permit each candidate, or petitioner and governing body orchief executive officer, to select an equal number of the officers ofelection to be recount officials and to count ballots, or in the case ofdirect electronic voting devices to redetermine the vote. The number shall befixed by the court and be sufficient to conduct the recount within areasonable period. The court may permit each party to the recount to submit alist of alternate officials in the number the court directs. There shall beat least one team of recount officials to recount paper ballots and toredetermine the vote cast on direct electronic devices of the type thatprints returns for the election district at large in which the recount isbeing held. There shall be at least one team from each locality usingelectronic counting devices to insert the ballots into one or more countingdevices. The counting devices shall be programmed to count only votes castfor parties to the recount or for or against the question in a referendumrecount. Each team shall be composed of one representative of each party.
The court may provide that if, at the time of the recount, any recountofficial fails to appear, the remaining recount officials present shallappoint substitute recount officials who shall possess the samequalifications as the recount officials for whom they substitute. The courtmay select pairs of recount coordinators to serve for each county or city inthe election district who shall be members of the county or city electoralboard and represent different political parties. The court shall haveauthority to summon such officials and coordinators. On the request of anyparty to the recount, the court shall allow that party to appoint onerepresentative observer for each team of recount officials. Therepresentative observers shall have an unobstructed view of the work of therecount officials. The expenses of its representatives shall be borne by eachparty.
D. The court (i) shall supervise the recount and (ii) may require delivery ofany or all pollbooks used and any or all ballots cast at the election, or mayassume supervision thereof through the recount coordinators and officials.
The redetermination of the vote in a recount shall be conducted as follows:
1. For paper ballots, the recount officials shall hand count the ballotsusing the standards promulgated by the State Board pursuant to subsection A.
2. For direct recording electronic machines (DREs), the recount officialsshall open the envelopes with the printouts and read the results from theprintouts. If the printout is not clear, or on the request of the court, therecount officials shall rerun the printout from the machine or examine thecounters as appropriate.
3. For optical scan tabulators, the recount officials shall rerun all theballots through a tabulator programmed to count only the votes for the officeor issue in question in the recount and to set aside all ballots containingwrite-in votes, overvotes, and undervotes. The ballots that are set aside,any ballots not accepted by the tabulator, and any ballots for which atabulator could not be programmed to meet the programming requirements ofthis subdivision, shall be hand counted using the standards promulgated bythe State Board pursuant to subsection A. Prior to running the ballotsthrough the tabulator, the recount officials shall ensure that logic andaccuracy tests have been successfully performed on each tabulator after thetabulator has been programmed. The result calculated for ballots accepted bythe tabulator during the recount shall be considered the correctdetermination for those ballots unless the court finds sufficient cause torule otherwise.
There shall be only one redetermination of the vote in each precinct.
At the conclusion of the recount of each precinct, the recount officialsshall write down the number of valid ballots cast, this number being obtainedfrom the ballots cast in the precinct, or from the ballots cast as shown onthe statement of results if the ballots cannot be found, for each of the twocandidates or for and against the question. They shall submit the ballots orthe statement of results used, as to the validity of which questions exist,to the court. The written statement of any one recount official challenging aballot shall be sufficient to require its submission to the court. If, on alldirect electronic voting devices, the number of persons voting in theelection, or the number of votes cast for the office or on the question,totals more than the number of names on the pollbooks of persons voting onthe devices, the figures recorded by the devices shall be accepted as correct.
At the conclusion of the recount of all precincts, after allowing the partiesto inspect the questioned ballots, and after hearing arguments, the courtshall rule on the validity of all questioned ballots and votes. Afterdetermining all matters pertaining to the recount and redetermination of thevote as raised by the parties, the court shall certify to the State Board andthe electoral board or boards (a) the vote for each party to the recount anddeclare the person who received the higher number of votes to be nominated orelected, as appropriate, or (b) the votes for and against the question anddeclare the outcome of the referendum. The State Board shall post on theInternet any and all changes made during the recount to the results aspreviously certified by it pursuant to § 24.2-679.
E. Costs of the recount shall be assessed against the counties and citiescomprising the election district when (i) the candidate petitioning for therecount is declared the winner; (ii) the petitioners in a recount of areferendum win the recount; or (iii) there was between the candidateapparently nominated or elected and the candidate petitioning for the recounta difference of not more than one-half of one percent of the total vote castfor the two such candidates as determined by the State Board or electoralboard prior to the recount. Otherwise the costs of the recount shall beassessed against the candidate petitioning for the recount or the petitionersin a recount of a referendum. If more than one candidate petitions for arecount, the court may assess costs in an equitable manner between thecounties and cities and any such candidate if both are liable for costs underthis subsection. Costs incurred to date shall be assessed against anycandidate or petitioner who defaults or withdraws his petition.
F. The court shall determine the costs of the recount subject to thefollowing limitations: (i) no per diem payment shall be assessed for salariedelection officials; (ii) no per diem payment to officers of election servingas recount officials shall exceed two-thirds of the per diem paid suchofficers by the county or city for service on election day; and (iii) perdiem payments to alternates shall be allowed only if they serve.
G. Any petitioner who may be assessed with costs under subsection E shallpost a bond with surety with the court in the amount of $10 per precinct inthe area subject to recount. If the petitioner wins the recount, the bondshall not be forfeit. If the petitioner loses the recount, the bond shall beforfeit only to the extent of the assessed costs. If the assessed costsexceed the bond, he shall be liable for such excess.
H. The recount proceeding shall be final and not subject to appeal.
I. For the purposes of this section:
"Overvote" means a ballot on which a voter casts a vote for a greaternumber of candidates or positions than the number for which he was lawfullyentitled to vote and no vote shall be counted with respect to that office orissue.
"Undervote" means a ballot on which a voter casts a vote for a lessernumber of candidates or positions than the number for which he was lawfullyentitled to vote.
(1979, c. 293, § 24.1-250; 1980, c. 639; 1981, c. 570; 1982, c. 650; 1983, c.461; 1984, c. 480; 1993, c. 641; 2000, cc. 938, 1057; 2001, cc. 639, 641,646; 2002, cc. 601, 647; 2003, c. 268; 2004, c. 410; 2006, c. 689; 2007, cc.285, 939, 943; 2008, c. 682.)
A. The State Board of Elections shall promulgate standards for (i) the properhandling and security of voting and counting devices, ballots, and othermaterials required for a recount, (ii) accurate determination of votes basedupon objective evidence and taking into account the counting device and formof ballots approved for use in the Commonwealth, and (iii) any other mattersthat will promote a timely and accurate resolution of the recount. The chiefjudge of the circuit court or the full recount court may, consistent withState Board of Elections standards, resolve disputes over the application ofthe standards and direct all other appropriate measures to ensure the properconduct of the recount.
The recount procedures to be followed throughout the election district shallbe as uniform as practicable, taking into account the types of ballots andvoting devices in use in the election district.
In preparation for the recount, the clerks of the circuit courts shall (a)secure all paper ballots and other election materials in sealed boxes; (b)place all of the sealed boxes in a vault or room not open to the public or toanyone other than the clerk and his staff; (c) cause such vault or room to besecurely locked except when access is necessary for the clerk and his staff;and (d) certify that these security measures have been taken in whatever formis deemed appropriate by the chief judge.
B. Within seven calendar days of the filing of the petition for a recount ofany election other than an election for presidential electors, or within fivecalendar days of the filing of a petition for a recount of an election forpresidential electors, the chief judge of the circuit court shall call apreliminary hearing at which (i) motions may be disposed of and (ii) therules of procedure may be fixed, both subject to review by the full court. Aspart of the preliminary hearing, the chief judge may permit the petitionerand his counsel, together with each other party and his counsel and at leasttwo members of the electoral board and the custodians, to examine any directelectronic voting device of the type that prints returns when the print-outsheets are not clearly legible. The petitioner and his counsel and each otherparty and their counsel under supervision of the electoral board and itsagents shall also have access to pollbooks and other materials used in theelection for examination purposes, provided that individual ballots cast inthe election shall not be examined at the preliminary hearing. The chiefjudge during the preliminary hearing shall review all security measures takenfor all ballots and voting devices and direct, as he deems necessary, allappropriate measures to ensure proper security to conduct the recount.
The chief judge, subject to review by the full court, may set the place orplaces for the recount and may order the delivery of election materials to acentral location and the transportation of voting devices to a centrallocation in each county or city under appropriate safeguards.
After the full court is appointed under § 24.2-801 or 24.2-801.1, it shallcall a hearing at which all motions shall be disposed of and the rules ofprocedure shall be fixed finally. The court shall call for the advice andcooperation of the State Board or any local electoral board, as appropriate,and such boards shall have the duty and authority to assist the court. Thecourt shall fix procedures that shall provide for the accurate determinationof votes in the election.
The determination of the votes in a recount shall be based on votes cast inthe election and shall not take into account (a) any absentee ballots orprovisional ballots sought to be cast but ruled invalid and not cast in theelection, (b) ballots cast only for administrative or test purposes andvoided by the officers of election, or (c) ballots spoiled by a voter andreplaced with a new ballot.
The eligibility of any voter to have voted shall not be an issue in arecount. Commencing upon the filing of the recount, nothing shall prevent thediscovery or disclosure of any evidence that could be used pursuant to §24.2-803 in contesting the results of an election.
C. The court shall permit each candidate, or petitioner and governing body orchief executive officer, to select an equal number of the officers ofelection to be recount officials and to count ballots, or in the case ofdirect electronic voting devices to redetermine the vote. The number shall befixed by the court and be sufficient to conduct the recount within areasonable period. The court may permit each party to the recount to submit alist of alternate officials in the number the court directs. There shall beat least one team of recount officials to recount paper ballots and toredetermine the vote cast on direct electronic devices of the type thatprints returns for the election district at large in which the recount isbeing held. There shall be at least one team from each locality usingelectronic counting devices to insert the ballots into one or more countingdevices. The counting devices shall be programmed to count only votes castfor parties to the recount or for or against the question in a referendumrecount. Each team shall be composed of one representative of each party.
The court may provide that if, at the time of the recount, any recountofficial fails to appear, the remaining recount officials present shallappoint substitute recount officials who shall possess the samequalifications as the recount officials for whom they substitute. The courtmay select pairs of recount coordinators to serve for each county or city inthe election district who shall be members of the county or city electoralboard and represent different political parties. The court shall haveauthority to summon such officials and coordinators. On the request of anyparty to the recount, the court shall allow that party to appoint onerepresentative observer for each team of recount officials. Therepresentative observers shall have an unobstructed view of the work of therecount officials. The expenses of its representatives shall be borne by eachparty.
D. The court (i) shall supervise the recount and (ii) may require delivery ofany or all pollbooks used and any or all ballots cast at the election, or mayassume supervision thereof through the recount coordinators and officials.
The redetermination of the vote in a recount shall be conducted as follows:
1. For paper ballots, the recount officials shall hand count the ballotsusing the standards promulgated by the State Board pursuant to subsection A.
2. For direct recording electronic machines (DREs), the recount officialsshall open the envelopes with the printouts and read the results from theprintouts. If the printout is not clear, or on the request of the court, therecount officials shall rerun the printout from the machine or examine thecounters as appropriate.
3. For optical scan tabulators, the recount officials shall rerun all theballots through a tabulator programmed to count only the votes for the officeor issue in question in the recount and to set aside all ballots containingwrite-in votes, overvotes, and undervotes. The ballots that are set aside,any ballots not accepted by the tabulator, and any ballots for which atabulator could not be programmed to meet the programming requirements ofthis subdivision, shall be hand counted using the standards promulgated bythe State Board pursuant to subsection A. Prior to running the ballotsthrough the tabulator, the recount officials shall ensure that logic andaccuracy tests have been successfully performed on each tabulator after thetabulator has been programmed. The result calculated for ballots accepted bythe tabulator during the recount shall be considered the correctdetermination for those ballots unless the court finds sufficient cause torule otherwise.
There shall be only one redetermination of the vote in each precinct.
At the conclusion of the recount of each precinct, the recount officialsshall write down the number of valid ballots cast, this number being obtainedfrom the ballots cast in the precinct, or from the ballots cast as shown onthe statement of results if the ballots cannot be found, for each of the twocandidates or for and against the question. They shall submit the ballots orthe statement of results used, as to the validity of which questions exist,to the court. The written statement of any one recount official challenging aballot shall be sufficient to require its submission to the court. If, on alldirect electronic voting devices, the number of persons voting in theelection, or the number of votes cast for the office or on the question,totals more than the number of names on the pollbooks of persons voting onthe devices, the figures recorded by the devices shall be accepted as correct.
At the conclusion of the recount of all precincts, after allowing the partiesto inspect the questioned ballots, and after hearing arguments, the courtshall rule on the validity of all questioned ballots and votes. Afterdetermining all matters pertaining to the recount and redetermination of thevote as raised by the parties, the court shall certify to the State Board andthe electoral board or boards (a) the vote for each party to the recount anddeclare the person who received the higher number of votes to be nominated orelected, as appropriate, or (b) the votes for and against the question anddeclare the outcome of the referendum. The State Board shall post on theInternet any and all changes made during the recount to the results aspreviously certified by it pursuant to § 24.2-679.
E. Costs of the recount shall be assessed against the counties and citiescomprising the election district when (i) the candidate petitioning for therecount is declared the winner; (ii) the petitioners in a recount of areferendum win the recount; or (iii) there was between the candidateapparently nominated or elected and the candidate petitioning for the recounta difference of not more than one-half of one percent of the total vote castfor the two such candidates as determined by the State Board or electoralboard prior to the recount. Otherwise the costs of the recount shall beassessed against the candidate petitioning for the recount or the petitionersin a recount of a referendum. If more than one candidate petitions for arecount, the court may assess costs in an equitable manner between thecounties and cities and any such candidate if both are liable for costs underthis subsection. Costs incurred to date shall be assessed against anycandidate or petitioner who defaults or withdraws his petition.
F. The court shall determine the costs of the recount subject to thefollowing limitations: (i) no per diem payment shall be assessed for salariedelection officials; (ii) no per diem payment to officers of election servingas recount officials shall exceed two-thirds of the per diem paid suchofficers by the county or city for service on election day; and (iii) perdiem payments to alternates shall be allowed only if they serve.
G. Any petitioner who may be assessed with costs under subsection E shallpost a bond with surety with the court in the amount of $10 per precinct inthe area subject to recount. If the petitioner wins the recount, the bondshall not be forfeit. If the petitioner loses the recount, the bond shall beforfeit only to the extent of the assessed costs. If the assessed costsexceed the bond, he shall be liable for such excess.
H. The recount proceeding shall be final and not subject to appeal.
I. For the purposes of this section:
"Overvote" means a ballot on which a voter casts a vote for a greaternumber of candidates or positions than the number for which he was lawfullyentitled to vote and no vote shall be counted with respect to that office orissue.
"Undervote" means a ballot on which a voter casts a vote for a lessernumber of candidates or positions than the number for which he was lawfullyentitled to vote.
(1979, c. 293, § 24.1-250; 1980, c. 639; 1981, c. 570; 1982, c. 650; 1983, c.461; 1984, c. 480; 1993, c. 641; 2000, cc. 938, 1057; 2001, cc. 639, 641,646; 2002, cc. 601, 647; 2003, c. 268; 2004, c. 410; 2006, c. 689; 2007, cc.285, 939, 943; 2008, c. 682.)
A. The State Board of Elections shall promulgate standards for (i) the properhandling and security of voting and counting devices, ballots, and othermaterials required for a recount, (ii) accurate determination of votes basedupon objective evidence and taking into account the counting device and formof ballots approved for use in the Commonwealth, and (iii) any other mattersthat will promote a timely and accurate resolution of the recount. The chiefjudge of the circuit court or the full recount court may, consistent withState Board of Elections standards, resolve disputes over the application ofthe standards and direct all other appropriate measures to ensure the properconduct of the recount.
The recount procedures to be followed throughout the election district shallbe as uniform as practicable, taking into account the types of ballots andvoting devices in use in the election district.
In preparation for the recount, the clerks of the circuit courts shall (a)secure all paper ballots and other election materials in sealed boxes; (b)place all of the sealed boxes in a vault or room not open to the public or toanyone other than the clerk and his staff; (c) cause such vault or room to besecurely locked except when access is necessary for the clerk and his staff;and (d) certify that these security measures have been taken in whatever formis deemed appropriate by the chief judge.
B. Within seven calendar days of the filing of the petition for a recount ofany election other than an election for presidential electors, or within fivecalendar days of the filing of a petition for a recount of an election forpresidential electors, the chief judge of the circuit court shall call apreliminary hearing at which (i) motions may be disposed of and (ii) therules of procedure may be fixed, both subject to review by the full court. Aspart of the preliminary hearing, the chief judge may permit the petitionerand his counsel, together with each other party and his counsel and at leasttwo members of the electoral board and the custodians, to examine any directelectronic voting device of the type that prints returns when the print-outsheets are not clearly legible. The petitioner and his counsel and each otherparty and their counsel under supervision of the electoral board and itsagents shall also have access to pollbooks and other materials used in theelection for examination purposes, provided that individual ballots cast inthe election shall not be examined at the preliminary hearing. The chiefjudge during the preliminary hearing shall review all security measures takenfor all ballots and voting devices and direct, as he deems necessary, allappropriate measures to ensure proper security to conduct the recount.
The chief judge, subject to review by the full court, may set the place orplaces for the recount and may order the delivery of election materials to acentral location and the transportation of voting devices to a centrallocation in each county or city under appropriate safeguards.
After the full court is appointed under § 24.2-801 or 24.2-801.1, it shallcall a hearing at which all motions shall be disposed of and the rules ofprocedure shall be fixed finally. The court shall call for the advice andcooperation of the State Board or any local electoral board, as appropriate,and such boards shall have the duty and authority to assist the court. Thecourt shall fix procedures that shall provide for the accurate determinationof votes in the election.
The determination of the votes in a recount shall be based on votes cast inthe election and shall not take into account (a) any absentee ballots orprovisional ballots sought to be cast but ruled invalid and not cast in theelection, (b) ballots cast only for administrative or test purposes andvoided by the officers of election, or (c) ballots spoiled by a voter andreplaced with a new ballot.
The eligibility of any voter to have voted shall not be an issue in arecount. Commencing upon the filing of the recount, nothing shall prevent thediscovery or disclosure of any evidence that could be used pursuant to §24.2-803 in contesting the results of an election.
C. The court shall permit each candidate, or petitioner and governing body orchief executive officer, to select an equal number of the officers ofelection to be recount officials and to count ballots, or in the case ofdirect electronic voting devices to redetermine the vote. The number shall befixed by the court and be sufficient to conduct the recount within areasonable period. The court may permit each party to the recount to submit alist of alternate officials in the number the court directs. There shall beat least one team of recount officials to recount paper ballots and toredetermine the vote cast on direct electronic devices of the type thatprints returns for the election district at large in which the recount isbeing held. There shall be at least one team from each locality usingelectronic counting devices to insert the ballots into one or more countingdevices. The counting devices shall be programmed to count only votes castfor parties to the recount or for or against the question in a referendumrecount. Each team shall be composed of one representative of each party.
The court may provide that if, at the time of the recount, any recountofficial fails to appear, the remaining recount officials present shallappoint substitute recount officials who shall possess the samequalifications as the recount officials for whom they substitute. The courtmay select pairs of recount coordinators to serve for each county or city inthe election district who shall be members of the county or city electoralboard and represent different political parties. The court shall haveauthority to summon such officials and coordinators. On the request of anyparty to the recount, the court shall allow that party to appoint onerepresentative observer for each team of recount officials. Therepresentative observers shall have an unobstructed view of the work of therecount officials. The expenses of its representatives shall be borne by eachparty.
D. The court (i) shall supervise the recount and (ii) may require delivery ofany or all pollbooks used and any or all ballots cast at the election, or mayassume supervision thereof through the recount coordinators and officials.
The redetermination of the vote in a recount shall be conducted as follows:
1. For paper ballots, the recount officials shall hand count the ballotsusing the standards promulgated by the State Board pursuant to subsection A.
2. For direct recording electronic machines (DREs), the recount officialsshall open the envelopes with the printouts and read the results from theprintouts. If the printout is not clear, or on the request of the court, therecount officials shall rerun the printout from the machine or examine thecounters as appropriate.
3. For optical scan tabulators, the recount officials shall rerun all theballots through a tabulator programmed to count only the votes for the officeor issue in question in the recount and to set aside all ballots containingwrite-in votes, overvotes, and undervotes. The ballots that are set aside,any ballots not accepted by the tabulator, and any ballots for which atabulator could not be programmed to meet the programming requirements ofthis subdivision, shall be hand counted using the standards promulgated bythe State Board pursuant to subsection A. Prior to running the ballotsthrough the tabulator, the recount officials shall ensure that logic andaccuracy tests have been successfully performed on each tabulator after thetabulator has been programmed. The result calculated for ballots accepted bythe tabulator during the recount shall be considered the correctdetermination for those ballots unless the court finds sufficient cause torule otherwise.
There shall be only one redetermination of the vote in each precinct.
At the conclusion of the recount of each precinct, the recount officialsshall write down the number of valid ballots cast, this number being obtainedfrom the ballots cast in the precinct, or from the ballots cast as shown onthe statement of results if the ballots cannot be found, for each of the twocandidates or for and against the question. They shall submit the ballots orthe statement of results used, as to the validity of which questions exist,to the court. The written statement of any one recount official challenging aballot shall be sufficient to require its submission to the court. If, on alldirect electronic voting devices, the number of persons voting in theelection, or the number of votes cast for the office or on the question,totals more than the number of names on the pollbooks of persons voting onthe devices, the figures recorded by the devices shall be accepted as correct.
At the conclusion of the recount of all precincts, after allowing the partiesto inspect the questioned ballots, and after hearing arguments, the courtshall rule on the validity of all questioned ballots and votes. Afterdetermining all matters pertaining to the recount and redetermination of thevote as raised by the parties, the court shall certify to the State Board andthe electoral board or boards (a) the vote for each party to the recount anddeclare the person who received the higher number of votes to be nominated orelected, as appropriate, or (b) the votes for and against the question anddeclare the outcome of the referendum. The State Board shall post on theInternet any and all changes made during the recount to the results aspreviously certified by it pursuant to § 24.2-679.
E. Costs of the recount shall be assessed against the counties and citiescomprising the election district when (i) the candidate petitioning for therecount is declared the winner; (ii) the petitioners in a recount of areferendum win the recount; or (iii) there was between the candidateapparently nominated or elected and the candidate petitioning for the recounta difference of not more than one-half of one percent of the total vote castfor the two such candidates as determined by the State Board or electoralboard prior to the recount. Otherwise the costs of the recount shall beassessed against the candidate petitioning for the recount or the petitionersin a recount of a referendum. If more than one candidate petitions for arecount, the court may assess costs in an equitable manner between thecounties and cities and any such candidate if both are liable for costs underthis subsection. Costs incurred to date shall be assessed against anycandidate or petitioner who defaults or withdraws his petition.
F. The court shall determine the costs of the recount subject to thefollowing limitations: (i) no per diem payment shall be assessed for salariedelection officials; (ii) no per diem payment to officers of election servingas recount officials shall exceed two-thirds of the per diem paid suchofficers by the county or city for service on election day; and (iii) perdiem payments to alternates shall be allowed only if they serve.
G. Any petitioner who may be assessed with costs under subsection E shallpost a bond with surety with the court in the amount of $10 per precinct inthe area subject to recount. If the petitioner wins the recount, the bondshall not be forfeit. If the petitioner loses the recount, the bond shall beforfeit only to the extent of the assessed costs. If the assessed costsexceed the bond, he shall be liable for such excess.
H. The recount proceeding shall be final and not subject to appeal.
I. For the purposes of this section:
"Overvote" means a ballot on which a voter casts a vote for a greaternumber of candidates or positions than the number for which he was lawfullyentitled to vote and no vote shall be counted with respect to that office orissue.
"Undervote" means a ballot on which a voter casts a vote for a lessernumber of candidates or positions than the number for which he was lawfullyentitled to vote.
(1979, c. 293, § 24.1-250; 1980, c. 639; 1981, c. 570; 1982, c. 650; 1983, c.461; 1984, c. 480; 1993, c. 641; 2000, cc. 938, 1057; 2001, cc. 639, 641,646; 2002, cc. 601, 647; 2003, c. 268; 2004, c. 410; 2006, c. 689; 2007, cc.285, 939, 943; 2008, c. 682.)
