Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 9, September, 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
§ 301
Paper Ballots
The following standards shall apply in determining whether a
ballot has been properly voted and whether a vote should be counted for any
contest in question:
* when ballots are not scanned in the presence of the voter due
to malfunction of a precinct electronic vote tabulating device and the
prescribed counting machine will not accept an individual ballot during
tabulating,
* when using an electronic vote tabulating device at a central
counting location and the prescribed counting machine will not accept an
individual ballot, or
* when counting paper ballots by hand.
The following instructions assume a single-seat office, that is,
the voter is only permitted to vote for one (1) candidate per contest.
1. Any ballot that is properly marked, as
specified by the ballot instructions, in the target area for one (1) candidate
or issue per contest shall be counted as a vote for that candidate or issue.
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2.
Any ballot that is properly marked with any device other than the approved
marking device which prevents a machine count, shall be counted as a
vote.
3. Any ballot with identical
marks for more than one (1) candidate or issue per contest, without additional
clarifying marks, shall be deemed an over-vote, and no vote shall be
counted.10
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4.
Any ballot with marks for more than one (1) candidate per contest, where the
names for all but one (1) candidate are stricken through, shall be counted for
the one (1) candidate whose name was not stricken.
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5.
Any ballot with identical marks for more than one (1) candidate per contest,
clarified by an additional mark or marks that indicate support for a single
candidate, shall be counted as a vote for the candidate with the additional
clarifying marks.
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6.
Any ballot that has any mark in the target area or candidate or issue area for
one (1) candidate or issue only, including circling the target area and/or the
candidate's name or issue or making a mark through the target area or
candidate's name or issue, provided no other candidate for that office or issue
is similarly marked, shall be counted as a vote for that candidate or issue,
unless the mark is clearly a negative comment.
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7.
Any ballot that has a mark in the target area or candidate or issue area for
one (1) candidate or issue, which partially extends into one (1) or more other
target areas or candidate or issue areas shall be counted as a vote for the
candidate or issue so marked only if it is readily apparent that most of the
mark is in that candidate or issue area or target area.
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8.
Any ballot that has a mark in the target area or candidate or issue areas for
one (1)
candidate or issue and on which other marks in the target area or
candidate or issue areas for any other candidates or issues have been partially
erased, scratched out, or otherwise removed, shall be counted as a vote for the
candidate or issue for which the mark was not erased, scratched out, or
otherwise removed.
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9.
Any ballot in which writings or remarks appear to be ranking the candidates
(letters, numbers) shall be counted as a vote for the top ranked candidate.
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10.
Any ballot with positive or negative writings or remarks regarding one (1) or
more candidates or issues, shall not be counted as a vote for that contest,
unless clarified by an additional mark or marks that indicate support for a
single candidate.
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11.
Any ballot on which the voter casts a vote on the ballot and writes in a
different, qualified candidate in the write-in area shall be considered an
over-vote for that contest and neither vote shall be counted.
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12. No write-in vote may be counted unless
the name of the write-in candidates shall have been hand-written on the
ballot.11
13. Any abbreviation, misspelling, or other
minor variation in the form of the name of a candidate must be disregarded in
determining the validity of the ballot if it can reasonably be determined that
the write-in vote is for a write-in candidate who has qualified for that
office.12
14. If a voter leaves a paper ballot at a
voting booth or anywhere else in the polling site without inserting it into the
ballot box before departing the polling site, the election officer shall write
"Abandoned" on the ballot and place it in an Abandoned Ballot envelope with a
notation on the outside of the envelope of the circumstances
13
surrounding the abandoned ballot. The election commission shall
not count the ballot.
15.
If a voter leaves the polling site after feeding a paper ballot into an
electronic vote tabulating device, and the ballot is rejected by the device but
is in the receiving part of the counter, two (2) election officers shall
complete the process of casting the ballot unless the voter told an election
officer to cancel or replace the ballot prior to leaving the polling site. The
election officers shall document the time they completed casting the ballot,
the name of the voter, the names of the election officers completing the
process and all other circumstances surrounding the abandoned
ballot.14
§ 302
Direct Recording Electronic
Voting Machine
Voting machines are programmed to prevent a voter from voting for
more than the maximum allowable number of candidates in any one (1) contest
preventing the voter from over-voting any contest on the ballot. The voter is
also alerted of any under-voted contest.
If a voter fails to complete the process of casting an electronic
ballot on a voting machine and departs the polling site without notifying an
election officer of his or her desire to cancel the ballot prior to departing,
two (2) election officers shall take action to complete the process of casting
the ballot. The election officers must document the time, the name of the
voter, if known, the names of the election officers completing the process of
casting the ballot, and all other circumstances surrounding the abandoned
ballot.15
1A.C.A. §
7-1-101(9)
2A.C.A. §
7-1-101(14)
3A.C.A. §
7-5-212
4A.C.A. §
7-5-211(a)(2)(H)
5A.C.A. §
7-5-208(g)/Act 705 of 2007
6A.C.A. §
7-5-208(d)(1)/Act 705 of 2007
7A.C.A. §
7-5-208(d)(2)/Act 705 of 2007
8 A.C.A. §
7-5-208(e)/Act 705 of 2007
9 A.C.A. §
7 -l-101(28)/Acts 224 and 1020 of
2007
10 A.C.A. §
7-5-315(4)/Act 1020 of 2007
11 A.C.A. §
7-5-315(2)/Act 1020 of 2007
12 A.C.A. §
7-5-205(a)(2)
13A.C.A. §
7-5-309(g)/Acts 224 and 834 of 2007
14 A.C.A. §
7-5-309(h)/Acts 224 and 834 of 2007
15 A.C.A. §
7-5-522(d)/Act 835 of 2007
