Election Handbook - Municipal Association of South Carolina

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Canvassing the votes and certifying the election Beginning the canvass and certification meeting A quorum of the municipal election commission (at least two members) must meet within three days of the election at the exact location and time specified in the public notice. Most municipal election commissions meet before 1 p.m. on the Thursday following a Tuesday election. SC Code 5-15-100. One of the members must be appointed secretary. The municipal election commission chairperson administers the following constitutional oath to each member. “We do solemnly swear (or affirm) that we are duly qualified, according to the Constitution of this State, to exercise the duties of the office to which we have been appointed, and that we will, to the best of our ability, discharge the duties thereof, and preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of this State and of the United States.” Provisional ballot hearing Before canvassing the votes, municipal election commission members must decide on all provisional (challenged) ballots in the election. Provisional ballots are not counted on election night. They are kept separate from other ballots and turned over to the municipal election commission. The municipal election commission will hear all objections to provisional ballots at this meeting. The municipal election commission may want to consider having the municipal attorney present to give legal advice. The municipal election commission should gather all ballot envelopes checked “provisional” and the provisional ballot log for absentee voting machines. Note: During the provisional ballot hearing, the municipal election commission will not consider improperly witnessed/ signed absentee ballots. Provisional ballots will have been cast on optical scan paper ballots which, when challenged, are placed in a provisional ballot envelope and checked “provisional.” Any absentee ballots cast in the county election commission office on voting machines and subsequently challenged are recorded on the provisional ballot log for absentee voting machines. The county election commission can provide detailed instructions on how to remove provisional ballots cast on voting machines from absentee totals. The municipal election commission may choose to read aloud the name of the voter of each provisional ballot and ask if the voter, challenger or other witness is present. If no challenger appears, produces witnesses or offers evidence before the meeting to sustain a challenge, the municipal election commission then examines the provisional ballot envelope (or log) to determine if there is reason to consider an administrative challenge. For example, if a voter appears to have voted in the incorrect precinct, an administrative challenge may be appropriate. This situation does not necessarily require a challenger or witness and can be resolved by the county voter registration office. In the absence of any evidence sustaining a challenge, a ballot is no longer provisional and must be counted. The ballot is removed from the provisional ballot envelope and mingled with all other provisional ballots found to be valid. If the challenger appears or if there is an administrative challenge, the municipal election commission will proceed to hear the challenge. It should first hear from the challenger(s), including supporting witnesses and evidence then hear from the voter (if present), including any supporting witnesses and evidence. Municipal election commission members may ask questions of the participants throughout the proceedings. If a vote of the municipal election commission is necessary to decide the outcome of the challenge, it must take the vote in public prior to examining the next provisional ballot. 17
If the municipal election commission declares a provisional ballot to be invalid, the ballot should remain in the unopened provisional ballot envelope and kept with other election materials. The county election commission can provide detailed instructions on removing invalid provisional ballots from county election commission office absentee voting machine totals. If the municipal election commission declares a provisional ballot to be valid, it should remove the ballot from its envelope and mingle it with all other provisional ballots that have been found to be valid. The municipal election commission will shuffle all provisional ballots found to be valid to protect the secrecy of the ballots then count the ballots. In the final canvass of votes, the municipal election commission will report the counted provisional ballots as a separate precinct without regard to the resident precinct. All decisions of the municipal election commission concerning provisional ballots will be final. 7-13-830. A best practice is to separate all provisional ballots by the “reason for the challenge.” This may expedite the hearing process by allowing municipal election commission members to approve or deny entire stacks of provisional ballots at one time. Another best practice is to copy the front of the provisional ballot envelope on election night then place the original envelopes back in a locked ballot box. The copied envelopes can be used to research voter qualifications without using the actual envelopes. This procedure keeps ballots secure and accountable. Improperly witnessed/signed absentee ballot envelopes The municipal election commission will not count an absentee ballot contained in a ballot envelope not properly witnessed or signed by the voter. In addition, it will not consider these ballots at the provisional ballot hearing. The municipal election commission has no discretion in counting these ballots. The county election commission places such ballots in an “attention” envelope. The municipal election commission must retain it with other election materials. SC Code 7-15-375, 7-15-380, 7-15-385. Envelopes checked “failsafe” The purpose of challenging these ballots on election day is for municipal election commission members to ensure the change of address form was completed on the outside of the envelope. Once confirming the form is complete, the municipal election commission can open the envelope, remove the ballot and mingle it with all other provisional ballots found to be valid. The municipal election commission must count this ballot without discretion. The municipal election commission must verify the voter voted a “failsafe” ballot containing only municipal-wide offices. If the voter voted a ballot containing district offices that are not qualified under failsafe law, the municipal election commission should not count the votes for those additional offices. SC Code 7-5-440. If the municipal election commission finds the change of address has not been completed, it must not count the ballot. Canvassing votes The municipal election commission will canvass the votes following the general or special election. Canvassing occurs immediately after the Provisional Ballot Hearing and is part of the municipal election commission meeting. Canvassing means counting all votes cast in an election by precinct. These totals include the unofficial election night totals and any valid provisional ballots. It is imperative to be certain that every vote has been counted. The municipal election commission and county election commission should verify they have followed all vote accumulation procedures. This includes comparing the paper tape totals with personal electronic ballot results. It is also important to physically check all ballot boxes used in the election to be certain all ballots are counted. 18
Page 2 and 3: Municipal Election Commission Handb
Page 4 and 5: Training available to municipal ele
Page 6 and 7: 2. Elect a chairperson. 3. Review s
Page 8 and 9: Public notice The municipal electio
Page 10 and 11: State Ethics Commission filing form
Page 12 and 13: days after filing closes to submit
Page 14 and 15: 5 days prior to an election Assembl
Page 16 and 17: Provisional (challenged) ballots Th
Page 20 and 21: Certifying election results After c
Page 22 and 23: Protests Candidates file municipal
Page 24 and 25: Nonpartisan primary and general ele
Page 26 and 27: Example: A city councilmember is ap
Page 28 and 29: Transfer of authority to county ele
Page 30 and 31: Sample county transfer ordinance Au
Page 32 and 33: Consolidation of precincts For the
Page 34 and 35: Sample nonpartisan election ordinan
Page 36 and 37: Sample partisan election ordinance
Page 38 and 39: Sample nonpartisan public notice (E
Page 40 and 41: Sample petition (available at www.s
Page 42 and 43: Sample nonpartisan statement of int
Page 44 and 45: Sample partisan ballot 43
Page 46 and 47: Sample poll manager’s oath (Use m
Page 48: Canvass sheet-certification of cand

Election Handbook - Municipal Association of South Carolina

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