Alaska Administrative Code › Title 3 - Commerce, Community, and Economic Development › Part 7 - Regulatory Commission of Alaska › Chapter 49 - Deregulation › Article 1 - Deregulation Ballot: Election Procedure › 3 AAC 49.060 - Recount

Current through May 31, 2024
(a) Within 10 days after the commission's
				  review and certification of the election results under
				  AS
				  42.05.712(e), an interested
				  party, a utility or cooperative, or 10 eligible subscribers or members who cast
				  ballots in the election and who believe there has been a mistake made by the
				  commission, by a counting team, or by a ballot counting agent in tabulating the
				  votes in the election, may file an application for a recount of the votes on
				  that ballot question.
(b) If there
				  is a tie vote, the commission will initiate the recount and notify the
				  interested parties of the time, date, and place of the recount.
(c) The date on which the commission receives
				  an application for a recount, rather than the date of mailing or transmission
				  of the application, determines whether the application is filed within the time
				  allowed under (a) of this section. If the actual physical delivery of a copy in
				  substance of the statements made in the application for recount is received in
				  the commission's office before 5:00 p.m., Alaska Standard or Daylight Time, as
				  the case may be, on the due date, the application will be accepted; however,
				  the original signed application must be postmarked at or before midnight,
				  Alaska Standard or Daylight Time, as the case may be, of the same
				  day.
(d) An application for recount
				  must include a deposit in cash, by certified check, or by bond with surety
				  approved by the commission. The amount of the deposit is $1 per ballot based on
				  the original count of valid ballots cast on the question. However, if the
				  recount includes a question for which there was a tie vote on the issue, or the
				  difference between the number of votes cast in favor of or in opposition to the
				  question was 10 or less, or was less than.5 percent of the total votes cast in
				  favor of or in opposition to the issue, the application need not include a
				  deposit, and the commission will bear the cost of the recount. If the vote on
				  the recount is determined to be four percent or more in excess of the vote on
				  the question reported by the commission on initial certification of the results
				  as stated in the application, the entire deposit will be refunded. If the
				  entire deposit is not refunded, the commission will refund any money remaining
				  after the cost of the recount has been paid from the deposit.
(e) If the commission determines that the
				  application for a recount is substantially in the required form, the commission
				  will set the date of the recount. It will be held within 10 days after receipt
				  of an application requesting a recount of the votes cast on the
				  question.
(f) Utilities or
				  cooperatives, or organized groups of subscribers or members, having a direct
				  interest in the recount and who are seeking to protect their interests during a
				  recount may provide at their own expense one or more observers to witness the
				  recount.
(g) The commission will
				  give the utility or cooperative, or any other interested party, or the one or
				  more persons appointed to represent the applicant during the recount, notice of
				  the time and place of the recount by certified mail, or telephone.
(h) In conducting the recount, the
				  commission, or its appointed representative, will review all ballots, whether
				  the ballots were counted by hand or by mechanical means, to determine which
				  ballots were properly marked and which ballots are to be counted in the
				  recount. The accuracy of the original count and the review of that count will
				  be checked. The commission will check the number of ballots cast, the ballots
				  rejected or questioned, those damaged or erroneously marked against the
				  certified list of eligible voters, and the total number of ballots distributed.
				  The rules governing the counting of hand-marked and punchcard ballots will be
				  followed in the recount. The ballots and other election material will remain in
				  the custody of the commission during the recount, and the highest degree of
				  care will be exercised to protect the ballots against alteration or mutilation.
				  The recount will be completed within 10 days after the date it begins. The
				  commission will, in its discretion, employ additional personnel or contract
				  with a ballot counting agent as under
				  3 AAC 49.050(b) to assist in the
				  recount.
(i) On completion of the
				  recount the commission will certify the results by order or letter
				  order.
(j) A utility, a
				  cooperative, or an interested party who requested a recount and who has reason
				  to believe an error has been made in the recount involving the question or the
				  validity of any ballot may appeal to the superior court in accordance with
				  AS
				  44.62.560-44.62.570 and applicable court
				  rules governing appeals in civil matters. Appeal must be filed within 10 days
				  after the completion of the recount and its certification. Upon order of the
				  court, the commission will furnish the record of the recount taken, including
				  all ballots, registers, and other election material pertaining to the election.
				  The inquiry in the appeal will extend to the questions whether or not the
				  commission has properly determined what ballots or marks on ballots are valid,
				  and to which division of the question the vote should be attributed.
Authority:
AS
						42.05.151(a)
AS
						42.05.712