RULE NO.:RULE TITLE:
1S-2.031Recount Procedures
NOTICE OF CHANGE
Notice is hereby given that the following changes have been made to the proposed rule in accordance with subparagraph 120.54(3)(d)1., F.S., published in Vol. 41 No. 195, October 7, 2015 issue of the Florida Administrative Register.
Changes were made to (1)(i)-(j) as follows:
(i) “Representative” refers to a person designated pursuant to paragraph (3)(d)(b) of this rule.
(j) “Undervote” means that the elector does not properly designate any choice for an office or ballot question, and the tabulator records no vote for the office or question or that the elector designated less than the number of choices allowed for the office and the tabulator records those choices. This definition mnay be altered based upon the individual characteristics of each voting system and how the system accounts for blank ballots.
Changes were made to (3)(b)1.a.-e. as follows:
(b) Ordering of recount.
1. If the Secretary of State orders a machine or manual recount, the Division of Elections shall notify:
a. The Each supervisor of elections within each the county where the recount will occur.
b. The candidates in the race that is the subject of the recount.
c. The respective chairperson of the state executive committee of a political party if the party has a candidate who is entitled to one or more representatives pursuant to paragraph (3)(d)2.
d. The respective chairperson of the political committee in support of or in opposition to the ballot issue or judicial retention issue that is the subject of the recount.
e. The candidate or chairperson as specified in sub-subparagraphs d. and e., immediately above, informing them to contact the supervisor of elections in each county involved in the recount to find out the date, time, and location of the recount in that county.
Changes were made to (3)(b)2.a.-e. as follows:
2. If the canvassing board orders a machine or manual recount, the supervisor of elections or responsible officer of the municipality, as applicable, shall notify:
a. Each municipality that has a race whose race is the subject to of the recount.
b. The candidates in the race that is the subject of the recount.
c. The respective chairperson of the county executive committee of a political party if the party has a candidate who is entitled to one or more representatives pursuant to paragraph (3)(d)2.
d. The respective chairperson of the political committee in support of or in opposition to the ballot issue or judicial retention issue that is the subject of the recount.
e. The candidate or chairperson as specified in sub-subparagraphs d. and e., immediately above, of the date, time, and location of the recount and whether he or she is entitled to one or more representatives at the recount pursuant to paragraph (3)(d).
Changes were made to (3)(d)1. as follows:
(d)Permissible representatives. The following persons or entities are entitled to have representatives present during a recount:
1. In a race for office including judicial retention, each candidate whose ultimate success or failure in the race could be adversely or favorably impacted by the recount is entitled to have:
Changes were made to (3)(d)3. as follows:
3. In a recount race involving a ballot issue or judicial retention race, any political committee thatwho registered before an election in specific support of or opposition to the ballot issue or a judicial retention race is entitled to have:
Changes were made to (4)(b)1.b. as follows:
b. In the case of a race to be recounted that includes a contest where a voter may properly vote for more than one candidate, overvotes and undervotes must first be outstacked. Once tabulation is complete, the ballots outstacked for undervotes must then be tabulated by overriding the rejection such that valid votes can be included in the tabulation. AllThese outstacked ballots must remain segregated in the event that a manual recount becomes necessary.,and in a way that outstacked undervotes that have been counted as valid votes are not again counted in the manual recount vote tally.
Changes were made to (4)(c)1.a.-b. as follows:
1. a. The supervisor of elections shall change the election parameters so that all the ballots for the recounted race or races can be tabulated and all the ballots containing overvotes and undervotes in the recounted race or races can be outstacked from the other ballots and counted.
b. In the case of a race to be recounted that includes a contest where a voter may properly vote for more than one candidate, overvotes and undervotes must first be outstacked. Once tabulation is complete, the ballots outstacked for undervotes must then be tabulated by overriding the rejection such that valid votes can be included in the tabulation. All These outstacked ballots must remain segregated in the event that a manual recount becomes necessary.,and in a way that outstacked undervotes that have been counted as valid votes are not again counted in the manual recount vote tally.
Changes were made to (4)(e)2. as follows:
2. The total number of the votes from the touchscreen ballots shall then be added to the total number of the votes from the optical scan ballots. That total shall then be compared to the total number of voters as recorded who signed in to vote at each precinct and early voting site.
Changes were made to (5)(b) as follows:
(b) Outstacking of overvotes and undervotes. 1. All If the overvoted and undervoted ballots were outstacked for either only one a recounted race or races during the machine recount, shall be transported to the location of the manual recount by two members of the canvassing board and a sworn law enforcement officer.
2. If the ballots were not outstacked for more than one recounted race during the machine recount, all ballots shall be transported to the location of the manual recount by two members of the canvassing board and a sworn law enforcement officer.
Changes were made to (5)(c)2. as follows:
2. Each counting team as designated by section 102.166(5), F.S., shall review the ballots before them to determine if there is a clear indication that the voter has made a definite choice, according to standards set forth in law or adopted by rule as mandated in sections 102.166(4), and 101.6952(2), F.S.
Changes were made to (5)(c)3.c.(i)-(ii) as follows:
(i) If a ballot is set aside because the team is unable to determine that there is a clear indication that the voter has made a definite choice or because a representative objected to the counting team’s decision, the ballot must be placed in one or more containers (e.g., envelopes, folders, tubs, bins, baskets, etc.) designated for undetermined ballots or ballots for which there is an objection.
(ii) The designated container may each contain one or more ballots at the canvassing board’s discretion; however, if not already located on the ballot itself, the container or a separate paper for each ballot therein must include the precinct number. In addition, if the ballot is placed in the container because there was an objection to the counting team’s determination, the container or separate paper for each such ballot therein must include the counting team’s initial determination, the basis for reasoning behind the objection challenge and the name and representative capacity of the person objecting bringing the challenge.
Changes were made to (5)(c)7. as follows:
7. The canvassing board shall review re-examine the outstacked ballots for which a determination of a voter’s choice could not be made. Based on that review re-examination, the board shall notify the Division of Elections to determine if the standards for determining a voter’s choice as set forth in law or adopted by rule as mandated in sections 102.166(4), and 101.6952(2), F.S., should be revised to better determine the voter’s choice on those outstacked ballots. The notification shall occur at the same time the canvassing board files the report on the conduct of the election pursuant to section 102.141(9), F.S.,
Changes were made to (5)(d) as follows:
(d) Optical scan ballot manual recount for when the ballots for more than one race were outstacked during the machine recount.
Changes were made to (5)(d)6.c.(i)-(ii) as follows:
(i) If a ballot is set aside because the team is unable to determine that there is a clear indication that the voter has made a definite choice or because a representative objected to the counting team’s decision, the ballot must be placed in one or more containers (e.g., envelopes, folders, tubs, bins, baskets, etc.) designated for undetermined ballots or ballots for which there is an objection.
(ii) The designated container may each contain one or more ballots at the canvassing board’s discretion; however, if not already located on the ballot itself, the container or a separate paper for each ballot therein must include the precinct number. In addition, if the ballot is placed in the container because there was an objection to the counting team’s determination, the container or separate paper for each such ballot therein must include the counting team’s initial determination, the basis for reasoning behind the objection challenge and the name and representative capacity of the person objecting bringing the challenge.
Changes were made to (5)(e)2.c. as follows:
c. If a representative objects to a counting team’s decision, the names of the counting team’s members, the counting team’s initial determination, basis for the objection, and name and representative capacity of the person objecting making the objection shall be attached to the ballot text image report. An objection must be based solely on departures from the procedures outlined in this rule for determining the clear indication on the ballot that the voter has made a definite choice to undervote.
All other portions of the proposed rule remain unchanged.
