§ 1-13.5-811 — Electronic vote counting - procedure

Colorado § 1-13.5-811

• Jurisdiction: Colorado
• Title 01: Elections
• Art.: Colorado Local Government Election Code

Text

(1) All proceedings at the
counting center must be under the direction of the designated election official and
must be conducted under the observation of watchers, so far as practicable; but no
unauthorized person may touch any ballot or ballot card or return. If any ballot is
damaged or defective so that it cannot properly be counted by the electronic vote
counting equipment, a true duplicate copy shall be made of the damaged ballot in
the presence of two election judges. The duplicate ballot must be substituted for
the damaged ballot. All duplicate ballots shall be clearly labeled as such and shall
bear a serial number, which is recorded on the damaged ballot.

(2) When certified by the designated election official, the return printed by
the electronic vote counting equipment, to which have been added write-in votes,
constitutes the official return of each polling place. The designated election official
may from time to time release unofficial returns. Upon completion of the count, the
official returns are open to the public.

(3) Absentee ballots must be counted at the counting center in the same
manner as ballots voted at the polling place. Valid write-in votes may be counted at
the polling place by the election judges or at the counting center.

(4) If for any reason it becomes impracticable to count all or a part of the
ballots with electronic vote counting equipment, the designated election official
may direct that the ballots be counted manually, following as far as practicable the
provisions governing the counting of paper ballots.

(5) The receiving, opening, and preservation of the transfer boxes and their
contents are the responsibilities of the designated election official, who shall
provide adequate personnel and facilities to assure accurate and complete election
results. Any indication of tampering with the ballots or ballot cards or other
fraudulent action must be immediately reported to the district attorney, who shall
immediately investigate the action and report his or her findings within ten days to
the designated election official and, subject to prosecutorial discretion, shall
prosecute to the full extent of the law any person responsible for the fraudulent
action. The conduct of local government elections when electronic voting systems
are used must follow, as nearly as practicable, the conduct of general and primary
elections when such systems are used.

Legislative History

Source: L. 2014: Entire article added, (HB 14-1164), ch. 2, p. 34, � 6, effective February 18.