Code of Maine Rules
29 - DEPARTMENT OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE
250 - BUREAU OF MOTOR VEHICLES
Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions
Chapter 536 - RULES ESTABLISHING PROCEDURES FOR REQUESTING AND CONDUCTING RECOUNTS OF ELECTIONS DETERMINED BY RANKED-CHOICE VOTING
Section 250-536-5 - GENERAL PROCEDURES FOR RECOUNTS

Universal Citation: 29 ME Code Rules ยง 250-536-5

Current through 2024-38, September 18, 2024

1. Security of the Recount Area. There will be a guardrail enclosure set up to separate the recount area from the public viewing area. In addition to the State recount personnel, only the candidates' representatives or counsel, and the counters may be within the guardrail enclosure. All persons participating in the recount, including the Recount Supervisor and Recount Assistants, must sign in before the start of the recount, on a form provided by the Secretary of State. Candidates and members of the public must remain outside the guardrail area. Only limited conversation will be permitted in the recount room. Cell phones must be silenced during the recount and may be used within the guardrail area only by the Recount Supervisor or Recount Assistants as needed to conduct the recount. Any person who causes a disruption of the recount process may be removed from the room, at the discretion of the Recount Supervisor.

2. Inspection of Materials

A. Prior to Counting. Prior to the beginning of the recount, the candidates' representatives or counsel will be allowed within the guardrail enclosure to inspect the tamper-proof containers, locks and seals and to sign off on their condition.

B. During the Recount. Used (voted) ballots will be inspected and counted during the recount process as provided in subsection 4 below. Once the final count for a municipality has been determined, the voted ballots for that municipality will be resealed in tamper-proof containers, and will not be available for inspection again unless the Recount Supervisor later determines, after consultation with the candidates or their counsel, that re-inspection is necessary to resolve a factual dispute or question about the validity of the recount. If additional materials have been retrieved pursuant to section 4, subsection 4(C) of these rules, they may be inspected as follows:
(1) The containers of unused state ballots may be inspected immediately after that municipality's ballots have been counted, or they may be held for inspection until after all the ballots in the electoral district have been counted.

(2) The incoming voting lists, absentee ballot envelopes and other election materials may be inspected upon request of one or both of the candidates or their counsel, or at the direction of the Recount Supervisor, after all the ballots in the electoral district have been counted and the Final Recount Tabulation has been prepared.

3. Instructions. At the start of the recount, the Recount Supervisor or designee will provide instruction to the participants on the laws and rules governing the recount process, ballot markings and the determination of voter intent.

4. Ballot Handling and Counting Process

A. Access. At no time will a candidate or the candidate's counters or representatives be permitted access to the ballots, incoming voting lists or other election materials without supervision or observation by the Recount Supervisor or Recount Assistants.

B. Writing implements. Only the purple pens or pencils provided by the Secretary of State will be used or allowed in the recount room.

C. Counting teams. Each counting team will include one counter for each candidate. Counters for each candidate will sit beside one another at a table, facing a Recount Assistant. Candidates' counters must remain at the tables during recount sessions, unless excused by the Recount Supervisor or Recount Assistant.

D. Packaging. Ballots will be unpacked and carried to the tables by the Recount Supervisor or Recount Assistants. At the completion of the counting session, the Recount Assistants will reseal the used (voted) ballots in the tamper-proof containers from that municipality or in any additional tamper-proof containers supplied by the Secretary of State.

E. Hand-counted and machine-counted ballots. Ballots from each municipality that were hand-counted on election night will be separated from their original Jots and sorted and counted by hand for each recount candidate and within each municipality as described in sections 6 and 7 of this rule. Bal lots that were machine-tabulated on election night also will be sorted and counted by hand for each recount candidate and within each municipality as described in sections 6 and 7 of this rule.

F. Disputed ballots
(1) Disputed ballots, as defined in Title 21-A, section 1, sub-§12, that are identified during the sorting and counting process described in sections 6 and 7 of this rule will be segregated as a single lot for each municipality.

(2) Before the candidate's counsel or representative signs the Municipal Tabulation form as described in paragraph I of this subsection, they may review the disputed ballots jointly and may resolve how the ballots should be sorted and counted. If the disputes are resolved, the votes on those ballots will be added to the municipal totals for the appropriate candidates. Prior to signing the Final Recount Tabulation pursuant to section 8 of this rule, the candidates' counsels or representatives may review the disputed ballots jointly and may resolve how individual ballots will be counted, in which case the Final Recount Tabulation will be adjusted accordingly. Disputed ballots which are resolved before the Final Tabulation may be repacked and resealed with the other ballots.

(3) A Disputed Ballot form indicating the candidate on whose behalf the ballot is being disputed, the grounds on which it is being disputed, the municipality, the alpha/numeric code for the counting team, and an identifying sequential number for the ballot will be prepared by the Recount Assistant or Recount Supervisor at the end of the recount, but only if there are enough disputed ballots to affect the result of the election.

G. Absentee Ballot Envelopes Containing Ballots. If, upon examination of absentee voting materials, absentee ballot envelopes appearing to contain ballots that were not removed from the envelope on election night are found, these ballots shall be dealt with in the manner described below:
(1) Clerk's notes indicate ballot is okay to cast and absentee ballot envelope has been slit open, but ballots have not been removed: The ballot shall be removed from the envelope and put into an odd lot to count.

(2) Clerk's notes indicate ballot is okay to cast and absentee ballot envelope has not been slit open: The ballot shall be segregated and not opened until after all other ballots in the electoral district have been counted. At that point, if it can be determined after checking the Incoming Voting List that the voter did not vote at the polls, the envelope shall be opened, and the ballot counted and added to the final count.

H. Tally sheets. Upon completion of each step in the recount process that requires tallying, as described in sections 6 and 7 of this rule, the Recount Assistant for the counting team will be responsible for completing the tally sheets and obtaining the signatures of each team member on the sheet. Each tally sheet will be labeled with the alpha code assigned to the counting team and consecutively numbered.

I. Municipal tabulations. After all the ballots have been counted for a municipality, the Recount Supervisor will provide the tabulation for that municipality to each candidate's counsel or representative on a Municipal Tabulation form. Each candidate's counsel or representative will be asked to sign the completed form agreeing to the final count for that municipality, including the number of ballots that remain in dispute. Once this is signed by or on behalf of both candidates, the used ballots will be resealed and neither the candidates nor their counsel will have access to these ballots again unless a factual dispute or question about the validity of the recount arises later in the recount process which the Recount Supervisor determines could be resolved by re-inspection. If one candidate is unwilling to agree to the final count for that municipality without first having an opportunity to inspect other election materials in accordance with section 4, subsection 4, paragraph C of this rule, then the Municipal Tabulation form may remain unsigned at this point in the process.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Maine may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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