Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 108 - BOARD OF ELECTION COMMISSIONERS › Rule 108.00.07-004 - Rules for Voter Intent

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
Scope of Rules
These rules and regulations set forth the procedures for
			 determining voter intent. These rules are subject to revisions due to the use
			 of new types of equipment and/or ballot formats, or changes in laws and are in
			 addition to and not a substitute for the laws of the State of Arkansas.
§ 300
Definitions
(a)
Candidate area
-
		  the area(s) on or between the lines separating candidate names.
(b)
Electronic vote tabulating
		  device
- a device, commonly referenced as an optical scanner, used
		  to electronically scan a marked paper ballot for the purpose of
		  tabulation.1
(c)
Issue area
- the
		  area(s) on or between the lines separating issues.
(d)
Marking device
-
		  any approved device for marking a paper ballot with ink or other substances
		  that will enable votes to be tabulated by means of an electronic vote
		  tabulating device.2 Paper ballots counted by hand
		  shall be marked using permanent ink.3 If an
		  electronic vote tabulating device (optical scanner) is used to count paper
		  ballots, the marking instrument recommended by the manufacturer of the optical
		  scanner for proper marking shall be used.4
(e)
Over-vote
- A
		  voter casts votes for more than the allowable number of candidates in a contest
		  or casts votes both for and against an issue in a contest.
(f)
Paper ballot -
a
		  paper vote sheet that is either counted by hand or by use of an electronic vote
		  tabulating device. The paper ballot must contain a place for marking a vote for
		  a candidate adjacent to and on the same line as the name of each candidate.
		  Below each act, amendment, or measure to be voted on, the words "For" and
		  "Against" shall be situated one above the other with a place for marking a vote
		  for each act, amendment, or measure adjacent to and on the same line of each
		  word.5 The paper ballot must include instructions to
		  vote by placing an appropriate mark, such as to blacken the oval (*), opposite
		  the person for whom you wish to vote.6 The paper
		  ballot should also include, if applicable, instructions to vote on amendments,
		  acts, and measures by placing an appropriate mark, such as to blacken the oval
		  (*), below the amendment, act, or measure either "For" or
		  "Against".7 Every paper ballot must contain printed
		  instructions that inform the voter of the effect of casting multiple votes for
		  an office and how to correct the ballot before it is cast and
		  counted.8
(g)
Properly marked
		  -
A paper ballot on which the appropriate mark has been placed in
		  the appropriate place for marking a vote and on which the voter has not cast
		  votes for more than the allowable number of candidates in a contest or cast
		  votes both for and against an issue in a contest.
(h)
Target area
-
		  the place on the paper ballot for marking a vote adjacent to and on the same
		  line as the candidate's name or issue to be voted on.
(i)
Under-vote
- no
		  vote is recorded for a contest.
(j)
Voting machine
- a direct recording electronic voting
		  machine that records votes by means of a ballot display provided with
		  mechanical or electro-optical components that may be actuated by the voter,
		  processes data by means of a computer program, records voting data and ballot
		  images in internal and external memory components and produces a tabulation of
		  the voting data stored in a removable memory component and in a printed
		  copy.9