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 in
accordance with this section 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 least one other
authorized person. At the conclusion of the recounts, the Recount Supervisor
will return the recount materials to the secure storage area to be held until
the materials are returned to the applicable municipalities by the State
Police.
4.
Materials
Available at the Recount
A.
Automatic retrieval: The State Police will 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.
B.
Staged retrieval: For a recount of an election or nomination for a
statewide or multi-county office, the Recount Supervisor may direct the State
Police to retrieve ballots from certain designated voting jurisdictions so that
the recount may be conducted in stages until the requesting candidate concedes
or until all the ballots are recounted. In determining how to stage the
retrieval and recounting of ballots, the Recount Supervisor will consider any
requests that may be made by the recount candidates or their representatives
regarding the selection or sequencing of voting jurisdictions to be recounted.
C.
Retrieval upon
request: The State Police will not retrieve unused state ballots,
absentee envelopes and applications, incoming voting lists or any local ballots
unless requested to do so by the Recount Supervisor. These materials will be
collected if a recount of the used state ballots in any municipalities within
the electoral district results in a significant discrepancy from the election
night tally and makes it necessary to retrieve any or all of these election
materials from those municipalities in order to reach a final tabulation and
conclude the recount. The Recount Supervisor will make the determination
regarding the collection of these additional materials, in consultation with
the recount candidates or their representatives.
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 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 or their representatives 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.
