§ 17-19-37.1. Recount eligibility — Candidates for public office.
A candidate for election or nomination for election to public office shall be eligible
to request a recount of the votes cast in his or her race pursuant to the following:
(1) In those races in which a single candidate is elected a candidate who trails the winning
candidate may request a recount of the votes cast at each precinct by a manual re-feeding
of the computer ballots cast in said race into the optical scan voting equipment provided
that the candidate shall trail the winning candidate by less than the following number
of votes:
(a) In those races where the number of votes cast is less than or equal to twenty thousand
(20,000) the candidate requesting the recount shall trail the winning candidate by
two percent (2%) or two hundred (200) votes, whichever is less; in those races where
the number of votes cast is between twenty thousand one (20,001) and one hundred thousand
(100,000) the candidate requesting the recount shall trail the winning candidate by
one percent (1%) or five hundred (500) votes, whichever is less; and, in those races
where more than one hundred thousand (100,000) votes are cast the candidate requesting
the recount shall trail the winning candidate by one-half of one percent (½%) or one
thousand five hundred (1,500) votes, whichever is less.
(b) For the purpose of determining recount eligibility, as prescribed in subsections (1)(a)
and (3) of this section, the number of votes cast in a race shall include the votes
cast for candidates and irregular ballots cast pursuant to § 17-19-31.
(2) In those races in which more than one candidate is elected a candidate who trails
the winning candidate may request a recount of the votes cast at each precinct by
a manual re-feeding of the computer ballots cast in said race into the optical scan
voting equipment provided that the candidate shall trail the winning candidate by
less than the following number of votes:
(a) In those races where the number of votes cast is less than or equal to five thousand
(5,000) the candidate requesting the recount shall trail the winning candidate by
two percent (2%) or fifty (50) votes, whichever is less; in those races where the
number of votes cast is between five thousand one (5,001) and twenty thousand (20,000)
the candidate requesting the recount shall trail the winning candidate by one percent
(1%) or one hundred (100) votes, whichever is less; and in those races where more
than twenty thousand (20,000) votes are cast the candidate requesting the recount
shall trail the winning candidate by one-half of one percent (½%) or one hundred fifty
(150) votes, whichever is less.
(b) For the purpose of determining recount eligibility, as prescribed in subsections (2)(a)
and (3) of this section, the total number of votes cast in a race shall be determined
by dividing the total number of votes eligible to be cast in the race by the number
of candidates for whom each voter was eligible to cast votes.
(3) Notwithstanding the requirements of subsections (1)(a) and (2)(a) of this section,
a candidate who trails the winning candidate by five percent (5%) or less, but more
than the minimum percentage or number of votes as required in subsections (1)(a) or
(2)(a) of this section, as applicable, may petition the state board to conduct a recount
of the votes cast at each precinct by re-reading the programmed memory device or devices
and comparing the results and totals obtained at such recount with the results and
totals obtained on election night. If, after said recount, a candidate shall trail
the winning candidate by less than the number of votes prescribed in subsection (1)(a)
or (2)(a) of this section, as the case may be, the candidate may request a recount
of the votes cast at each precinct to subsection (1)(a) or (2)(a) of this section,
as is applicable.
The state board shall have the authority to adopt rules and regulations to implement
and administer the provisions of this section.