Title 12, ELECTIONS

The process of tabulating the votes using the automatic tabulating equipment must be under the direction of the person in charge of the election, and must conform to the specifications and requirements of the automatic tabulating equipment. The results printed by the automatic ta…

If automatic tabulating equipment is located at a polling place for processing ballots while the polls are open, the equipment may not be operated in a manner which returns an over-voted or partially under-voted ballot to the voter. The equipment shall be operated in a manner whi…

Notwithstanding the provisions of § 12-17B-13 , the governing body of the jurisdiction conducting the election may not release any cast vote record or collection of ballot images if the cast vote record or any ballot image: (1) Indicates the date, time, or order in which a ballot…

The resolution board shall determine the disposition of those ballots which cannot be properly counted by the tabulating equipment. A true duplicate copy shall be made of any ballot in question and substituted for the rejected ballot. All duplicate ballots shall be clearly labele…

After the tabulating procedure is completed, the ballots shall be placed in boxes and resealed. Any program board which may be used in the automatic tabulating equipment shall be removed and stored similarly to the ballots. Source: SL 1994, ch 110 , § 19.

Automatic tabulating equipment must be tested prior to a recount or election contest as provided in §§ 12-17B-5 to 12-17B-5 .2, inclusive, and then the official ballots must be recounted. The recount board shall certify the new returns printed by the automatic tabulating equipmen…

The State Board of Elections may promulgate rules pursuant to chapter 1-26 concerning: (1) The criteria and procedure for approving voting systems pursuant to this chapter; (2) Notices and forms; (3) Test procedures; and (4) The arrangement and conduct of voting, absentee voting,…

Within fifteen days following the completion of the state canvassing of a primary or general election, the auditor of each county shall conduct a post-election audit of the ballots cast in the election following the procedures listed in this section and §§ 12-17B-19 to 12-17B-25 …

The office of the secretary of state shall reimburse each county for the cost of any post-election audit required by §§ 12-17B-18 to 12-17B-25 , inclusive. The State Board of Elections shall promulgate rules, pursuant to chapter 1-26 , administering the reimbursement process and …

Any automatic tabulating or electronic ballot marking system used in an election shall enable the voter to cast a vote for all offices and on all measures on which the voter is entitled to vote. No automatic tabulating, electronic ballot marking, or election voting equipment syst…

The post-election audit must be conducted in five percent of the precincts in the county by manually counting all votes cast in two contests and comparing the results of the manual count to the results for those precincts at the county canvass. The county auditor shall select the…

A post-election audit conducted pursuant to §§ 12-17B-18 to 12-17B-25 , inclusive, must be open to the public. Members of the public shall keep a reasonable distance so as to not interfere with the audit process. The county auditor shall post notice of the time and place of the a…

The county auditor shall send the results of the post-election audit to the secretary of state and present the results of the audit to the county commission at its next meeting. The results of the audit shall be included in the minutes of the county commission meeting. The secret…

If the results of the post-election audit show a discrepancy in the results greater than the margin by which any contest for elected office on the ballot in the county was decided, the auditor shall notify the candidates for that office. Any candidate who receives a notification …

If a recount of any contest is conducted in a county, the county auditor is not required to conduct a post-election audit pursuant to § 12-17B-18 . Source: SL 2023, ch 50 , § 7.

The county auditor shall reseal and retain the ballots upon the completion of a post-election audit pursuant to § 12-20-31 . Source: SL 2023, ch 50 , § 8.

Any governing body having supervision of elections within any political subdivision may adopt, experiment with, or abandon any automatic tabulating or electronic ballot marking system approved for use by the State Board of Elections. Any governing body may use the system in all o…

The governing body of a political subdivision may contract with any county for the use of an automatic tabulating or electronic ballot marking system for elections within the political subdivision. Source: SL 1994, ch 110 , § 8; SL 2005, ch 92 , § 5; SL 2018, ch 81 , § 5, eff. Fe…

Not more than ten days prior to an election, the person in charge of the election shall conduct a test of the automatic tabulating equipment to ascertain that the equipment will correctly count the votes cast for all offices and on all measures. The test must be open to the publi…

The person in charge of the election shall test the automatic tabulating equipment by processing a predetermined number of ballots on which are recorded a predetermined number of valid votes for each candidate and measure. The test of the automatic tabulating equipment must also …

After the conclusion of the testing of the automatic tabulating equipment, no software or firmware updates may be made to the automatic tabulating equipment until after the certification of the election results. Each automatic tabulating device must be sealed with a unique number…

The person in charge of the election shall provide a sufficient number of voting equipment and supplies to accommodate the voters and avoid unreasonable waiting times for casting ballots. Source: SL 1994, ch 110 , § 10; SL 2005, ch 92 , § 6.

If a candidate for federal office appears on the ballot at a polling place, such polling place is required to have an electronic ballot marking system present. Source: SL 2006, ch 70 , § 1.

Before entering the voting booth, any voter may request instruction in the proper procedure for marking the ballot to ensure that the tabulating equipment is able to read the vote cast. No instructions may be given to the voter while in the voting booth. However, any voter using …

Upon completion of the voting and after sealing the ballot box, two of the members of the precinct election board, of different major political parties, shall, by the most direct route, transport the box to the central counting location designated by the person in charge of the e…