Section 115.541

Title IX SUFFRAGE AND ELECTIONS

Chapter 115

Effective - 28 Aug 1993   

  115.541.  Recount, primary election, irregularities in election — how conducted. — 1.  Whenever a recount is ordered pursuant to section 115.539, the court shall order all materials and records relating to the contest brought before it, so that the court has the same materials and records as the election judges had while making the count and statements of returns.  The court shall have authority to pass upon the form and determine the legality of the votes brought into question and to determine the qualifications of any voter whose vote is brought into question, provided that the name of a voter upon a precinct register for the polling place shall be prima facie evidence of the proper qualifications of the voter.  A comparison may be made between the signatures on the identification certificates and those which appear in the precinct registers, and no votes shall be counted except the votes of registered voters and those entitled to vote as provided in section 115.277 without being registered.  No votes of any person found by the court to be unqualified to vote at the primary election shall be counted.

  2.  Whenever a recount of votes cast on paper ballots is ordered pursuant to section 115.539 or 115.601, the court shall proceed to open and count the votes and, after the count has been completed, shall tabulate by voting district the votes cast for the contestant and the contestee.

  3.  Whenever a recount of votes cast on any voting machine is ordered pursuant to section 115.539 or 115.601, the court shall make visible the registering counters of the machine and, without unlocking the machine against voting, shall record the votes cast on the machine.

  4.  Whenever a recount of votes cast on ballot cards is ordered pursuant to section 115.539 or 115.601, the court shall supervise a test of the automatic tabulating equipment conducted in the manner provided in section 115.233 and shall cause the votes to be recounted automatically or may order a hand count of the votes.  In its discretion, the court may order a new computer program to be made, which shall be tested in the manner provided in section 115.233 before the votes in question are recounted automatically.

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(L. 1977 H.B. 101 § 13.035, A.L. 1993 S.B. 31)