W. Va. Code R. § 153-27-4

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 50, December 13, 2024

Section 153-27-4 - Procedures for Optical Scan Ballots

4.1. The clerk of the county commission shall appoint the following teams of persons to process ballots at the central counting center:

4.1.1. As many inspection teams as are needed to efficiently sort the incoming ballots and complete the procedures for all precincts in the county;

4.1.2. As many write-in counting team as are needed to efficiently review the ballots containing attempted write-in votes and to complete the procedures for all precincts in the county.

4.1.3. One or more resolution teams as needed to efficiently complete the procedures and prevent delays in completing the tabulation for all precincts in the county.

4.2. Each inspection team shall handle the ballots of only one precinct at a time, so as not to intermingle the ballots of various precincts. Each team shall remove the ballots from the ballot box, sort the ballots into stacks of ballots with write-in votes and ballots without write-in votes, and complete any other procedures required or directed by the clerk of the county commission.

4.3. Each write-in counting team shall proceed as follows:

4.3.1. They shall handle the ballots of only one precinct at a time.

4.3.2. They shall examine the ballots containing attempted write-in votes one by one in order to determine whether the write-in vote shall be counted and whether any temporary alteration or duplication of the ballot is necessary.

4.3.2.a. They shall determine whether any official write-in candidates have filed for offices on the ballot in the precinct under consideration. If there are official candidates, they shall proceed to the next step, 4.3.2b. If not, the ballot shall be reviewed as an invalid write-in. (under step 4.3.3.b or c.)

4.3.2.b. They shall examine the attempted write-in vote to determine whether the name of an office to be filled in that election is given. If not, the attempted vote shall be disregarded, and the ballot placed in the stack to be tabulated. If an office to be filled is named, they shall proceed to the next step, 4.3.2.c.

4.3.2.c. They shall then determine if the vote is entered in the proper place for write-in votes. If the name is entered in the proper location, they shall proceed to the next step, 4.3.3. If not, the ballot shall be reviewed as an invalid write-in, step 4.3.3.b or c.

4.3.3. They shall examine the write-in vote to determine if it is a valid write-in vote, as defined in section 2.8. of this rule.

4.3.3.a. If the counting team finds the entry is a valid write-in vote, they shall then examine the ballot to determine whether the voter has overvoted for the office for which the write-in vote was cast.

4.3.3.a.1. If there is no overvote, a tally mark shall be entered on the write-in record sheet for the precinct, and the ballot placed in the stack to be tabulated.

4.3.3.a.2. If there is an overvote, no tally mark shall be entered, and the ballot placed in the stack to be tabulated.

4.3.3.b. If the counting team finds the write-in position was marked but the name entered is not an official write-in candidate, they shall place the ballot placed in the stack to be tabulated.

4.3.3.c. If the counting team finds the write-in position was not marked, they shall then examine the ballot to determine whether the voter's intention for the office is clear.

4.3.3.c.1. If the attempted write-in would not have caused an overvote had it been a valid vote, the voter's intention is clear. The ballot shall be placed in the stack to be tabulated.

4.3.3.c.2. If the attempted write-in would have caused an overvote or would have caused a vote to be rejected for that office had the vote been a valid write-in, the voter's intention is not clear. The write-in team shall place a black sticker over the write-in position or duplicate the ballot according to the provisions of W. Va. Code § 3-4A-27(d), and mark the write-in position so as to cause the tabulator to reject the overvote The duplicate ballot shall be placed in the stack to be tabulated, or held in a separate stack until the group to be tabulated is complete.

4.4. A ballot shall be duplicated only if there is a mark which makes correct tabulation impossible, or the ballot is so badly damaged it will not go through the scanner;

4.4.1. All duplicated ballots shall be numbered in red ink corresponding to the original ballot beginning with one (1) and continuing in sequence (for example, if there are five (5) ballots to be duplicated for a precinct, the numbers assigned would begin with one (1) and end with five (5).);

4.4.2. When any ballot is duplicated, the original ballot shall be retained with the duplicate.

4.5. For each precinct, a careful tally of write-in votes and all other votes counted manually under this procedure shall be kept by each deputized person designated to count ballots containing write-in votes;

4.6. Once all the ballots are stacked for the tabulator and all valid write-in votes tallied, the ballots shall be delivered as directed by the clerk to the team in charge of the tabulator.

4.7. One resolution team shall be present at the tabulator to review any ballots isolated by the tabulator.

4.7.1. The resolution team shall begin the review of isolated ballots immediately, and shall complete the review and any necessary temporary alteration or duplication according to the procedures of subsection 4.3 and W. Va. Code § 3-6-5 in order to reflect the voter's intention and shall return the ballots for tabulation.

4.7.2. The results of the precinct tabulation shall not be posted until the resolution team has completed its work and all ballots from the precinct have been tabulated.

4.8. As soon as practical after the tabulation of the precinct, the tally of all tabulated and write-in votes for announced write-in candidates shall be posted for public inspection.

W. Va. Code R. § 153-27-4