950 CMR, § 47.14 - Processing Early Voting Ballots at Polls

(1) Deliver Early Voting Ballots. The early voting ballots shall be delivered to the polls during the day, not later than one hour after the polls close.

(2) Warden Shall Process Early Voting Ballots. The warden, or an election officer designated by the warden, may process early voting ballots whenever there is free time, from the time the polls open in the morning and throughout the day.

(3) Early Voting Ballots to be Processed. Only the local election official shall determine whether to reject an early voting ballot as defective. The election officers at the polls may only reject early voting ballots as defective if, when opening the ballot envelope, more than one ballot is contained therein as set forth in 950 CMR 47.15(6). If the ballot is transmitted to the polls, election officers shall process it unless the person's name has been marked on the voting list as having voted in person, or the name is not on the voting list. Election officers shall verify that the name of the person who signed the affidavit on the early voting ballot envelope is on the voting list. Election officers must inform the local election official if the name does not appear on the voting list.

(4) Mark the Voting List. The letters EV shall have already been written in front of the early voter's name and in the area used for marking a check on the voting list. A mark shall be made beside or through the name of the voter to indicate that the early voting ballot vote has been cast. An election officer shall announce the name and address of each early voter. This same process shall occur at the check-out table.

If early voting ballots are processed at the polls but after the close of polls, it is not required to announce the name and address of each early voter at the check-out table.

(5) Open Ballot Envelope. Election officers shall open the ballot envelope carefully so as not to deface, mark or tear the ballot or the ballot envelope. Election officers shall place the ballot envelopes in the proper container.

(6) One Ballot Per Envelope. The ballot envelope must not contain more than one ballot. If more than one ballot is in the envelope, neither ballot shall be counted and those ballots shall be placed in the ballot envelope which shall be marked "Rejected as Defective" and placed in the proper container.

(7) Challenging of Early Voting Ballots. In the polling place, if an early voting ballot is challenged when opened at the polls, the name and address of the early voter shall be written on the ballot by the warden in accordance with the provisions set forth in 950 CMR 47.16. The challenger's name and address shall be recorded and the event shall be noted in the local election official's Election Record, and the letters CV shall be placed on the voting list next to the name of the challenged voter. After this, the ballot shall be deposited in the ballot box.

(8) Remove Ballot and Place in Ballot Box. The early voting ballot shall be removed from its envelope without examining it and in a manner that will ensure the privacy of the ballot and shall be fed through the vote tabulator, where voting systems are used, or wound into the ballot box where ballots are hand-counted. The envelope shall be kept separate.

(9) Retention. Early voting ballot envelopes shall be retained and returned to the local election official.

Notes

950 CMR, § 47.14

Adopted by Mass Register Issue 1320, eff. 8/26/2016.