Oklahoma Administrative Code › Title 230 - State Election Board › Chapter 45 - Contests of Election › Subchapter 5 - Instructions for Counters for Manual Recount › Part 5 - RULES FOR COUNTING › Section 230:45-5-19 - Counters shall observe rules

Current through Vol. 41, No. 20, July 1, 2024
When manually recounting ballots that were originally
					 counted by electronic voting devices, the law concerning the counting of
					 ballots by voting devices shall be applied to the manual count. Counters shall
					 observe the following rules in counting all ballots:
(1) Ballots must be marked in blue or black
				  ink or in pencil. If not, they cannot be counted.
(2) Any marking in the voting target shall be
				  a valid marking. The voting target is the rectangle that appears to the left of
				  each candidate's name, each option on a question, and each party emblem in the
				  "straight party" voting option.
(3)
				  If there is any writing on the ballot, the ballot still can be counted for any
				  office or question thereon.
(4) Any
				  mark extending outside the voting target into another voting target cannot be
				  counted.
(5) Marks used to
				  designate the intention of the voter shall not be counted if they are not
				  located in the voting target. [26:7-127(3)]
(6) Failure to vote for any candidate for a
				  particular office shall not invalidate valid markings for candidates or other
				  offices on the same ballot. [26:7-127(5)]
(7) A valid marking in the voting target
				  beside the emblem of a political party shall be counted as a vote for each
				  candidate of that party on the ballot. [26:7-127(6)]
(8) If a valid marking is marked in the
				  voting target beside emblems of two or more parties, then the ballot cannot be
				  counted for any partisan candidate on that ballot. [26:7-127(6)]
(9) If a valid marking is marked in the
				  voting target beside the emblem of Political Party A, and a valid marking is
				  marked in the voting target beside the name of a candidate of Political Party
				  B, then one vote shall be recorded for each candidate of Political Party A
				  except for the office in which the vote was recorded for the individual
				  candidate of Political Party B. [26:7-127(6)] That individual candidate of
				  Political Party B shall receive one vote. Such a ballot is valid because a vote
				  for the candidate shall supersede the vote for the party.
(10) If valid markings are made in the voting
				  targets beside the names of two candidates for the same office, the ballot
				  cannot be counted for any candidate for that office. An overvote shall be
				  recorded for this race. However, the ballot may be counted for candidates for
				  other offices which are validly marked.
(11) If a ballot has not been marked for any
				  candidate in a particular race or question, no vote shall be counted for any
				  candidate in the race and an undervote shall be recorded for the race. If a
				  ballot is completely blank and no votes have been marked for any race or
				  question, no votes shall be recorded for any race or question on the ballot. An
				  undervote shall be recorded for every race and question on the
				  ballot.
(12) Ballots that have been
				  torn shall be counted if it is possible to determine how the voter marked the
				  ballot.
Amended at 10 Ok Reg 2751, eff 7-1-93 ; Amended at 30 Ok
						Reg 1722, eff 7-15-13