California Code of Regulations
Title 2 - Administration
Division 7 - Secretary of State
Chapter 4.6 - Manual Tally Standards
Section 20297 - Definitions

(a) A "manual tally" is the process of counting the votes cast by voters by hand-to-eye, human interpretation of voter markings from the corresponding ballot, under the provisions of Chapter 4.5. As used in this Chapter, "manual tally" has the same meaning as "manual count" and "manual vote count" as those terms are used in Elections Code sections 15270.1 and 15270.3.

(b) "Chain of Custody" means a process used to track the movement and control of all election materials related to the conduct of a manual tally through its lifecycle by documenting each person and organization who handles the manual tally election materials, the date and time it was collected or transferred, and the purpose of the transfer. A break in the chain of custody refers to a period during which control of the manual tally election materials is uncertain and during which actions taken with the manual tally elections materials are unaccounted for or unconfirmed.

(c) A "counting board" is the group(s) of individuals appointed by the elections official pursuant to Elections Code sections 339, 15205, 15207, and 15290 to participate in the conduct of the manual tally of votes cast.

(d) A "cumulating board" is the group(s) of county election employees appointed by the elections official to participate in the conduct of the manual tally of votes cast to compile the total results from the counting boards for each contest.

(e) A "hash mark" refers to a tally mark, which is a form of numeral used for counting.

(f) "Qualified political party" means a political party qualified pursuant to Elections Code, Division 5 of the California Elections Code.