950 CMR, § 47.15 - Processing Early Voting Ballots at Central Tabulation Facility

(1) Deliver Early Voting Ballots and Voting List. Before the opening of the central tabulation facility, a list containing the names of all voters whose early voting ballots have been cast shall be delivered to the central tabulation facility. The early voting ballots shall be delivered during the day, not later than the close of polls. The election officers assigned to the central tabulation facility, shall, as soon as early voting ballots are delivered, record the total number of ballots received, by precinct.

(2) Election Officers Shall Process Early Voting Ballots. The election officers at the central tabulation facility shall process early voting ballots from the time the central tabulation facility opens and throughout the day.

(a) Early voting ballots shall be processed one precinct at a time. All early voting ballots from one precinct shall be processed before another precinct can be processed.

(b) Once the tabulation of a precinct is complete, the tabulated ballots for the precinct may be removed from the ballot box and stored securely, but must remain in public view.

(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 central tabulation facility 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 early voting ballot is transmitted to the central tabulation facility, the election officers at the central tabulation facility shall process it unless the voter's 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. Reading the name and address of the voter from the affidavit envelope, the election officers shall find the voter's name on the voting list delivered to the central tabulation facility, which will have the letters EV already printed next to it. The election officer shall mark beside the name of the voter to indicate that the early voting ballot vote has been deposited into the tabulator.

(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. If an early voting ballot is challenged when opened at the central tabulation facility, the name and address of the early voter shall be written on the ballot by the warden. 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 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) Print Results. After the hour fixed for closing of the polls, the election officer shall cause the voter tabulator to print the results of the election and shall remove the results paper tape from the vote tabulator.

(10) Inspection of Ballots. After all ballots have been tabulated, the early voting ballots shall be removed from the box and shall be inspected by teams of two election officers. Such inspection shall include an examination for write-in or sticker votes. If any such write-in or sticker votes are found, the ballot shall at once be examined, and shall be hand-counted and the precinct totals adjusted accordingly.

(11) Seal the Counted Ballots. The counted ballots shall be sealed in an envelope or container and shall be transmitted, in accordance with the provisions of M.G.L. c. 54, § 107, to the office of the local election official forthwith. The early voting lists shall also be sealed in separate envelopes and transmitted to the office of the local election official.

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

Notes

950 CMR, § 47.15

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