13-15-201. Preparation for count. (1) (a) Subject to 13-10-311, to prepare for a manual or automatic count of paper ballots before or after the close of the polls, the counting board of election judges designated under 13-15-112 shall take ballots out of the box unopened to determine whether each ballot is single.
     (b) If an absentee ballot counting board has been appointed pursuant to 13-15-112, the absentee ballots must be delivered to the absentee ballot counting board and counted as provided in 13-15-104. If an absentee ballot counting board has not been appointed, the regular counting board shall, subject to 13-13-244, remove each absentee ballot secrecy envelope and open it to determine whether the ballot for each election is single. An absentee ballot must be rejected if in the envelope there is more than one voted ballot for each election.
     (c) The counting board shall count all ballots to ensure that the total number of ballots corresponds with the total number of names in the pollbook.
     (d) If the counting board cannot reconcile the total number of ballots with the pollbook, the board shall submit to the election administrator a written report stating how many ballots were missing or in excess and any reason of which they are aware for the discrepancy. Each judge on the board shall sign the report.
     (e) A ballot that is not marked as official is void and may not be counted unless all judges on the counting board agree that the marking is missing because of an error by election officials, in which case the ballot must be marked "unmarked by error" on the back and must be initialed by all judges.
     (f) If two or more ballots are folded or stuck together to look like a single ballot, they must be laid aside until the count is complete. The counting board shall compare the count with the pollbooks, and if a majority believes that the ballots folded together were voted by one elector, the ballots must be rejected; otherwise they must be counted.
     (2) For nonpaper ballots, the counting board shall prepare for the official count in a manner prescribed by the secretary of state pursuant to 13-17-211.

     History: En. Sec. 172, Ch. 368, L. 1969; R.C.M. 1947, 23-4002; amd. Sec. 152, Ch. 571, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 9, Ch. 242, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 55, Ch. 414, L. 2003.