§ 9-303

(a) The State Board shall establish guidelines for the administration of absentee voting by the local boards.

(b) The guidelines shall provide for:

(1) the application process;

(2) late application for absentee ballots;

(3) ballot security, including storage of returned ballots;

(4) determining timeliness of receipt of applications and ballots, including applications and ballots for overseas voters;

(5) the canvass process;

(6) notice of the canvass to candidates, political parties, campaign organizations, news media, and the general public;

(7) observers of the process;

(8) review of voted ballots and envelopes for compliance with the law and for machine tabulation acceptability;

(9) standards for disallowance of ballots during the canvass;

(10) storage and retention of ballots following canvass and certification; and

(11) the permanent absentee ballot list.

(c) The State Board shall:

(1) in consultation with the local boards, assess the guidelines before each primary election; and

(2) revise the guidelines if indicated.