Montana Code 13-16-301. Application and court order for recount
13-16-301. Application and court order for recount. (1) (a) Within 5 days after the canvass of election returns, an unsuccessful candidate for any public office at an election may apply to the district court of the county where the election was held for an order directing the appropriate county or school recount board to make a recount of the votes cast in any or all of the precincts or the school district polling places. If the election was held in more than one county, the application must be made to the district court of the county where the candidate resides.
Terms Used In Montana Code 13-16-301
- Ballot: means a paper ballot counted manually or a paper ballot counted by a machine, such as an optical scan system or other technology that automatically tabulates votes cast by processing the paper ballots. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- Candidate: means :
(a)an individual who has filed a declaration or petition for nomination, acceptance of nomination, or appointment as a candidate for public office as required by law;
(b)for the purposes of chapter 35, 36, or 37, an individual who has solicited or received and retained contributions, made expenditures, or given consent to an individual, organization, political party, or committee to solicit or receive and retain contributions or make expenditures on the individual's behalf to secure nomination or election to any office at any time, whether or not the office for which the individual will seek nomination or election is known when the:
(i)solicitation is made;
(ii)contribution is received and retained; or
(iii)expenditure is made; or
(c)an officeholder who is the subject of a recall election. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- Election: means a general, special, or primary election held pursuant to the requirements of state law, regardless of the time or purpose. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- Elector: means an individual qualified to vote under state law. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- issue: means a proposal submitted to the people at an election for their approval or rejection, including but not limited to an initiative, referendum, proposed constitutional amendment, recall question, school levy question, bond issue question, or ballot question. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
- Public office: means a state, county, municipal, school, or other district office that is filled by the people at an election. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- School recount board: means the board authorized pursuant to 20-20-420 to perform recount duties in school elections. See Montana Code 13-1-101
(b)Within 5 days after the canvass of election returns, an elector who was eligible to vote on the issue and who believes that there are grounds for a recount of the votes cast for and against a ballot issue may apply to the district court of the county where the elector resides for an order directing the appropriate county or school recount board to make a recount of the votes cast in any or all of the precincts or the school district polling places.
(2)The application must specify the grounds for a recount, and it must be verified by the applicant that the matters contained in it are true to the best of the applicant’s knowledge, information, and belief.
(3)Within 5 days after filing of the application, the judge shall hear the application and determine its sufficiency.
(4)If the judge finds there is probable cause to believe that the votes cast for the applicant or the ballot issue were not correctly counted, the judge shall order the appropriate county or school recount board to assemble within 5 days after the order is issued at a time and place fixed by the order. The board shall meet and recount the ballots as specified in the order.