Ohio Code 3505.27 – Counting and tallying of ballots
Unless otherwise ordered by the secretary of state or the board of elections, the counting and tallying of ballots shall be conducted according to procedures prescribed by the board of elections that assure an accurate count of all votes cast and that include all of the following:
Terms Used In Ohio Code 3505.27
- state: means the state of Ohio. See Ohio Code 1.59
(A) The counting and tallying of ballots at the appropriate office, as designated by the board, in the full view of members of the board and observers;
(B) The recording on a worksheet or other appropriate document of the number of votes cast for each candidate and the number of votes cast for and against each question or issue;
(C) The periodic reporting to the public and the office of the secretary of state of the number of votes cast for each candidate and the number of votes cast for and against each question or issue as tallied at the time of the report;
(D) An examination and verification by the appropriate authority, as designated by the board, of the votes so tallied and recorded in the pollbook under section 3505.26 of the Revised Code.
The board shall prescribe additional procedures as necessary to assure an accurate count of all votes cast. These procedures shall be followed until all of the ballots that are required to be counted on the day of the election after the close of the polls have been counted.
All work sheets that are prepared at the polling locations shall be preserved and placed inside the pollbook and returned to the board.
If there is any disagreement as to how a ballot should be counted, it shall be submitted to the members of the board for a decision on whether or to what extent the ballot should be counted. If three of the members do not agree as to how any part of the ballot shall be counted, only that part of the ballot on which three of the members do agree shall be counted. A notation shall be made upon the ballot indicating what part has not been counted, and the ballot shall be placed in an envelope marked “Disputed Ballots.”