Current through 2024-38, September 18, 2024
1.
Designating State Recount Personnel
A.
Recount Supervisor. The
recount will be conducted under the supervision of the Secretary of State, or
his or her designee, who is called the Recount Supervisor. The Recount
Supervisor will direct and oversee the conduct of the recount according to the
laws, rules and procedures governing the conduct of the recount and the conduct
of elections.
B.
Recount
Assistants. The Secretary of State will provide the necessary number of
Department staff to act as Recount Assistants. The Recount Supervisor will
assign one Recount Assistant to each counting team and will assign Recount
Assistants to other tasks as necessary.
2.
Notice of Public Proceeding.
The recount is a public proceeding and members of the press and the general
public may attend, although space may be limited. The Secretary of State will
provide notice to the public regarding each recount, including information
about scheduling.
3.
Collection and Storage of Ballots and Election Materials. Upon
receiving a request for a recount, the State Police will collect the ballots
and other election materials as requested by the Secretary of State pursuant to
section 2, subsection 4 of these rules. The State Police will deliver these
materials to a secure storage area under the control of the State Police or the
Secretary of State. The Recount Supervisor and Secretary of State staff will
have access to the secure storage area to organize and log the materials prior
to the start of the recounts. While the recounts are being conducted, the
Recount Supervisor and Recount Assistants will maintain control over the
ballots and other recount materials. No recount personnel will have access to
the areas where ballots are stored unless accompanied by at [east one other
authorized person. At the conclusion of the recounts, the Recount Supervisor
will return the recount materials to the secure storage area until the
materials are returned to the applicable municipalities by the State Police.
4.
Materials Available at
the Recount
A.
Difference of 10
or more votes. For recounts involving a difference of 10 or more votes
between the leading and requesting candidate or candidates, or the Yes and No
responses to a referendum, based on the Return of Votes Cast prepared by the
municipalities, the State Police will automatically retrieve the following
materials, which will be made available for inspection at the recount: the used
state ballots, including voted and counted ballots; spoiled, defective and void
ballots that were segregated and not counted; and envelopes containing
challenge certificates. The State Police will not retrieve unused state
ballots, absentee envelopes and applications, incoming voting lists or any
local ballots unless a recount of the used state ballots in any municipalities
results in a significant discrepancy from the results reported on the Return of
Votes Cast prepared by the municipalities that makes retrieval of any or all of
these election materials from those municipalities necessary to reach a final
tabulation and conclude the recount.
B.
Difference of fewer than 10
votes. For recounts involving a difference of fewer than 10 votes
between the leading and requesting candidate or candidates, or the Yes and No
responses to a referendum, based on the Return of Votes Cast prepared by the
municipalities, the State Police will retrieve the following materials, which
will be made available for inspection at the recount: the materials described
in paragraph A, plus the used absentee envelopes and applications, test
ballots, unused ballots, absentee voter lists and the incoming voting lists.
Local ballots will only be retrieved if they were processed through the same
tabulator as the state ballots.
5.
Scheduling Recounts and
Counters
A.
Recount
schedule. The Recount Supervisor will set the schedule for the recounts.
Each recount will begin promptly at the assigned time and will resume promptly
after the time allotted for lunch and breaks has concluded. While recounts will
normally be conducted during regular business hours, a recount may be continued
after 5 p.m. with the agreement of the participating candidates, referendum
representatives or their counsel. The Recount Supervisor has authority to
continue the recount to the next available business day, however, even if the
participating candidates or their counsel wish to continue the recount past 5
p.m.
B.
Counters. Each
candidate will provide the number of counters required by the Recount
Supervisor. At a minimum, six counters will be required for each candidate
participating in the recount unless the Recount Supervisor determines that
fewer counters are needed based on the number of ballots cast. If more than six
counters are needed, the Recount Supervisor will notify the candidates,
referendum representatives or their counsel of the number of counters to be
supplied. Candidates and certain other persons, as designated in
21-A M.R.S.A.
§737-A, sub-§5, are prohibited from
participating in the recounts in any capacity. It is not recommended that the
counsel for a candidate act as a counter, although it is not
prohibited.
