Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 18, September 16, 2024
PURPOSE: This amendment updates
terms.
PURPOSE: This rule provides that management controls
shall be instituted by local election authorities on ballots counted by
electronic ballot tabulating equipment.
(1) Definitions.
(A) Ballot - the entire ballot on which a
voter marks their votes.
(B)
Destruction of ballots -any method which renders the ballots unusable for
further use as ballots including burning, mechanical shredding or cutting, and
chemical decomposition but does not include landfilling or burying.
(2) All county election officials
shall develop and operate a management system to document on the public record
the acquisition and usage of all ballots provided to them for use in automated
tabulating systems.
(3) At a
minimum, the system shall provide an ongoing inventory record and a signed
written affidavit on the public record for the following activities:
(A) Receipt of ballots including date of
receipt, total shipment received, and serial numbers (if available) of the
ballots;
(B) Issuance of ballots to
each polling place including the election date, total number of ballots issued,
and serial numbers, if available;
(C) Receipt of ballots from each polling
place following the election including election date, a reconciliation for each
precinct showing total ballots issued, total ballots voted, total ballots
invalidated, total ballots lost, and total ballots returned unvoted. The
election authority within thirty (30) days after the election shall verify by
physical count the number of unvoted ballots. Unvoted ballots shall be shown by
serial numbers, if available;
(D)
Issuance of ballots to the election authority for the purpose of absentee
ballot preparation. This record shall contain all the elements contained in
subsection (3)(B). Following the election, the election authority shall
complete a record containing all information contained in subsection
(3)(C);
(E) Destruction of unvoted
ballots for whatever purpose the election authority deems appropriate. This
record shall contain the number of ballots destroyed, the method of
destruction, and the serial numbers of the ballots, if available;
(F) Issuance of ballots for educational,
testing, or any purposes other than those mentioned in subsections (3)(A)-(E).
In every case the record shall indicate the purpose for which the ballots are
issued, the serial numbers of the ballots, if available, and the steps taken by
the election authority, including the marking of the word VOID on the face or
back of the ballot, or changes to the ballot to ensure that the ballots will
not be used in subsequent elections; and
(G) All the affidavits in this section shall
be maintained in the office of the election authority for a period of two (2)
years after the date on which all ballots from a single shipment of ballots
have been completely issued.
(4) Each election authority shall conduct an
annual inventory of all ballots in their custody comparing the actual number of
ballots in their custody with the number of ballots indicated as being on their
inventory records.
(A) This inventory must
include verification of all serial numbers if available.
(B) The election authority shall establish
the date(s) of the inventory at their discretion between April 1 and June 1 of
each year.
(C) Following the
required inventory, the election authority shall sign an affidavit including
the actual number of ballots on hand at the end of the previous inventory, the
number of ballots received since the previous inventory, the number of ballots
restocked following elections or other activities outlined in section (3), the
number of ballots issued or destroyed since the last inventory based on
previously filed affidavits, the actual number of ballots on hand as determined
by the present inventory and any discrepancies. In the case of discrepancies,
the election authority shall include their assessment of the reason for the
discrepancy. In all cases the affidavit shall include serial numbers, if
available.
(D) One (1) copy of the
affidavit shall be held by the election authority in their office for five (5)
years from the date of affidavit and one (1) copy shall be forwarded to the
secretary of state.
*Original authority: 115.225, RSMo
1977.
