§ 9-126 — Unofficial tally of election results

§ 9-126. Unofficial tally of election results. 1. In an election\ndistrict of the county of Nassau, the chair of the board of inspectors,\nupon the completion of the return of canvass, and the announcement\nthereof in a primary or general election, shall deliver to the police\nofficer on duty at the polling place a statement signed by the board of\ninspectors stating the number of votes received by each person voted for\nand the number of votes cast for and the number of votes cast against\neach ballot proposal. Such officer forthwith shall convey the statement\nto the stationhouse of the police precinct in which such place of\ncanvass is located, and shall deliver it inviolate to the officer in\ncommand thereof, who shall immediately transmit by telegraph, telephone\nor messenger, the contents of such statement to the officer commanding\nthe police department of such county who shall immediately make the\ncontents of such statement available for the press. The chair of the\nboard of inspectors in each election district of such county shall make\ntwo copies of the statement hereinbefore provided for, which shall be\ntaken to the police station, whence one such copy shall be transmitted\nwithout delay to police headquarters, or such other location as may be\ndesignated by the officer commanding the police department, where it\nshall be made immediately available to the press for purposes of\ntabulation. The other copy shall be transmitted within twenty-four hours\nto the board of elections. All statements made pursuant to this section\nshall be preserved for six months by the police and shall be presumptive\nevidence of the result of such canvass.\n 2. (a) Except in the county of Nassau, the chair of the board of\ninspectors, upon completion of the return of canvass and the\nannouncement thereof, in a general or primary election, shall\nimmediately communicate such results by telephone, or delivery, to the\nboard of elections. Such results shall include the number of votes\nreceived by each person voted for and the number of votes cast for and\nagainst each ballot proposal.\n (b) The board of elections shall remain open after the close of the\npolls and shall receive and tabulate the voting results as they are\nreceived. The board of elections shall make such unofficial results\navailable to the media and the state board of elections, and shall post\nrunning totals in a public place and on the internet as the results\nbecome known to it.\n 3. The results made public pursuant to this section shall be released\nas the unofficial tally.\n 4. A county board of elections may require the chair of the board of\ninspectors in each election district to report unofficial election night\nresults by telephone, fax or other means. Such results shall include the\ntotal aggregate number of votes received by each person voted for, the\ntotal aggregate number of write-ins and the number of votes cast for and\nagainst each ballot proposal.\n 5. (a) The board of elections of counties in which voting machines\nwhich have portable memory devices are used, may establish written\nprocedures consistent with the provisions of this section and filed with\nthe state board of elections by which such devices may be used to\nprovide the unofficial tally of results required by this section.\n (b) Such procedures may include: the installation, at the board of\nelections or at town or city halls, police stations, sheriff's offices\nor other public buildings, of machines which record and transmit the\ntotals recorded in such devices to the board of elections or directly to\na representative of the press; the delivery of the devices from the\npolling places to such locations and the removal of such devices, by at\nleast two clerks or other agents of such board of elections of opposite\npolitical parties, from the containers or envelopes in which they were\nsealed at the polling places and the insertion of such devices into such\nmachines.\n (c) In the city of New York, unless the board of elections of such\ncity designates two clerks or other agents of opposite political parties\nfor delivery of the devices from the polling places to such locations,\npolice officers or peace officers designated by the police commissioner\nof such city shall provide such delivery as soon as practicable.\n (d) The board of elections shall provide containers, at all such\nlocations other than the offices of such board, into which all such\ndevices shall be placed by the clerks or other agents of such board of\nelections after they are removed from such machines. Such containers\nshall be sealed by such clerks or agents who shall also enter on a\ncertificate which shall be printed on each such container, the total\nnumber of such devices placed in such container and the election\ndistricts from which such devices came. Such clerks shall also sign such\ncertificate in the places provided.\n (e) Such containers shall be delivered to the board of elections by\nthe public officials in whose offices such machines were installed\nwithin twenty-four hours after the closing of the polls. In the city of\nNew York, unless the board of elections of such city designates two\nclerks or other agents of opposite political parties for delivery of\nsuch containers to the board of elections, police officers or peace\nofficers designated by the police commissioner of such city shall\ndeliver such containers. The board of elections shall give such\nofficials, police officers, or peace officers a receipt therefor which\nstates therein the date and hour of delivery, the name of the person\nmaking the delivery and the name of the person to whom such delivery was\nmade. The board of elections shall keep a duplicate of such receipt on\nfile at the office of such board.\n (f) The cost of installing such machines at locations other than the\nboard of elections and the cost of transmitting the results from such\nmachines may be paid by the board of elections or by a representative of\nthe press. If such results are transmitted from a location other than\nthe board of elections directly to a representative of the press, such\ncost shall be paid by such representative of the press.\n