Rules & Regulations of the State of Tennessee
Title 1360 - Department of State
Subtitle 1360-02 - Elections
Chapter 1360-02-09 - Procedures at the Counting Center
Section 1360-02-09-.02 - RECEPTION BOARD

The reception board shall consist of one team or more of two persons each, one of whom shall be a member of the majority party and one of whom shall be a member of the minority party. Such teams shall receive the ballot boxes as they are brought in to the counting center from the precincts. They shall examine the condition of the ballot box, the condition of the lock, the condition of the seal, and the condition of the sealed sign over the top of the ballot box. If all seems in order, they shall issue a receipt in triplicate for the ballot box, one copy to go to the judge or officer of the majority party bringing in the ballot box, one copy to go to the judge of the minority party bringing in the ballot box, and one copy to be retained by the county election commission. In the event that the ballot box, the lock, or the seal do not appear to be in order, the receiving team shall summon the chairman and secretary of the county election commission who shall conduct an immediate investigation as to the cause of the irregularity. If, after an investigation, the ballot box seems in order, it shall be processed in the usual manner and appropriate entries shall be made on the reception board log (Fig. 3). If however, no explanation for the irregularity can be given to satisfy both members of the election commission making the investigation, the ballot box shall be set aside under lock and key and a full-scale hearing shall be held on the day following election. The ballots therein shall be processed separately and segregated, and the results of such precinct tabulation shall not be communicated to any person, including any member of the election commission, until the hearing is held and the election commission shall make a determination as to the validity of the votes contained in such ballot box. The Coordinator of Elections and the State Election Commission shall be immediately notified the night of the election of the irregularity and the hearing shall be held only in the presence of the Coordinator of Elections or his representative and/or State Election Commission or its representative. In the event that the election commission can make no determination, or in the event that either the representative of the Coordinator of Elections or the representative of the State Election Commission or any candidate is not satisfied with the results, then, in that event, the matter shall be referred to the Chancery Court of the County in which the election is held and to the Attorney General. The county election commission, the Coordinator of Elections, or the State Election Commission shall represent all candidates for election in the precinct in question, except where a candidate brings the action and the matter shall be heard pursuant to the provisions of T.C.A. Title 2, Chapter 17.

Authority: T.C.A.§§2-910,2-11-201(c).