Post-Election Administration and Review Guide
This guide presented by the Office of the Secretary of State in May 2020 covers post-election administration procedures such as recounts, contests, and data practices. The focus is on the Post-Election Review process, including the Post-Election Equipment Review (PER) to ensure the accuracy of the counting. A manual recount can be initiated if needed to verify the election results.
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Presented by the Office of the Secretary of State May 2020 Post-Election Administration 2
Post Election Review Recounts Contests Data Practices
Post-Election Equipment Review (PER) Determines if counting was accurate enough Manual recount Randomly-selected precincts Specific offices State General Election M.S. 206.89
Setting PER Time/Location At primary canvass, County Canvassing Board sets PER location, date and time. Must be between Nov. 14 and Nov. 21, 2020 (The results of the PER must be reported to the OSS at least 2 days before the State Canvassing Board Meets (Nov. 24, 2020)) Notify OSS for posting on website M.S. 204C.32, 206.89
Selecting PER Precincts At general canvass, County Canvassing Board randomly selects the precincts to be reviewed at PER If < 50,000 registered voters at least 2 precincts Between 50,000 and 100,000 registered voters at least 3 precincts If > 100,000 registered voters at least 4 precincts, or 3% of total # precincts in county, whichever is greater At least 1 precinct selected must have 150 votes cast M.S. 204C.33, 206.89
Entering PER Precincts in ERS Mark precincts selected Selected precincts will include Polling Place and AB/MB votes Notify OSS for posting on website
PER Official County Auditor is PER Official May designate municipal clerks as PER official within 24 hours after county s general canvass Notify OSS for posting on website M.S. 206.89
PER Preparation Print PER Summary Statement Each precinct will have a separate polling place and absentee/mail ballot section for each race to be counted Manually enter overvotes/undervotes on worksheet from tape M.S. 206.89
PER Counting Hand count votes for President, U.S. Senator, & U.S. Rep. Use M.S. 204C.22 to determine voter intent Identify marked votes that may not have been counted correctly by ballot counter No review for office if subject to recount Election judges that assist must have party balance Keep ballots secure before, during, and after counting M.S. 206.89
What is acceptable? Standard of Acceptable Performance of 1% Difference equal to or less than of 1% is acceptable Difference greater than of 1% is not acceptable, further review is required Precincts where 400 or fewer voters cast ballots: Difference greater than 2 votes is not acceptable, further review is required M.S. 206.89
Explained Differences If ballot counter cannot determine voter intent, votes do not count against the standard of acceptable performance. Examples on following slides would likely be exceptions to include in Explained Difference column on the PER worksheet
Marks Outside Target These marks outside of target would probably not be counted by the ballot counter
Possible Overvotes Ballot counter would probably have read these as overvotesand not have counted these votes
Other Possible Issues Ballot counter read heads are sensitive Food, liquids, dirt and other materials on ballots could be interpreted as valid marks by the ballot counter
Entering PER Results in ERS Enter polling place and AB/MB PER results separately Add Explanation note when putting counts into Explained Difference column Voter intent, marked outside target Stray mark on ballot Not overvote, voter corrected mark Stain on ballot Explanation will be visible on the certification M.S. 206.89
Proofing PER Results Print PER Results Proofing Reports, proof for accuracy Separate proofing reports for polling place & AB/MB PER Final Results Report will combine polling place and AB/MB numbers and explanations
Final PER Results ERS will automatically determine acceptability Notify OSS if any precinct not acceptable When acceptable, sign & fax/email to OSS M.S. 206.89
2018 PER Results When there were differences, often were explained Most common explanations: Write-ins without target marked Missed target Faint mark Smudges/dirt on ballot Incorrect overvote Machine jam None above acceptable threshold to trigger additional review
Additional Review If additional review is necessary: Notify OSS Within two days, at least three additional precincts must be reviewed If possible, precincts should be in same jurisdiction as precinct with issue Otherwise, publicly chosen by lot from precincts within county If second review also has difference over acceptable threshold, all precincts in county must be reviewed in one week M.S. 206.89
PER Results & OSS Report results to OSS no later than two days before State Canvassing Board meets on Nov. 24, 2020 State Canvass report is adjusted for any discrepancies found during PER M.S. 206.89
Post Election Procedural Audit Done by OSS Must monitor and evaluate election procedures in at least 4 precincts in each congressional district Precincts chosen from PER precincts Chosen by lot by the State Canvassing Board at the State Canvassing Board meeting for the state general election M.S. 206.895
2018 Post Election Procedural Audit Notes When summary statement info on multiple forms, possible to miss required info Ensuring summary statements for absentee tabulators Ongoing potential for wrong ballots to be issues in split precincts Using write-in tally sheet Completing forms even if all zeroes Ensuring all late/rejected absentee history is posted
A recount is Counting of ballots by hand For one particular race at a time Limited to recount of ballots cast Opportunity for everyone to see that ballots counted properly Requested by candidate in race Or voter eligible to vote on question M.S. 204C.35, 204C.36, M.R. 8235.0200, 8235.0400
A recount is not Not to determine who is eligible to vote Not to determine if campaign laws were violated Not to determine if ABs were properly accepted/rejected Not to determine if election judges followed proper procedure Not for original ballots that were duplicated M.S. 204C.35, M.R. 8235.0200, 8235.0400
State & Federal recounts 5 4 3 U.S. Senate 2 Governor Legislative 1 0 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018
Recount Requests
Publicly funded recounts State legislative offices difference is less than .5% of votes cast, or 10 or fewer votes if 400 or fewer votes cast Other state and federal offices difference is less than .25% of votes cast, or 10 or fewer votes if 400 or fewer votes cast State, federal, and judicial candidates must be notified if eligible immediately after canvassing board meets M.S. 204C.35
Publicly funded recounts County, Municipal, School District offices difference < .25% of votes cast if votes cast > 50,000, or difference < .5% of votes cast if votes cast is 400-50,000, or 10 or fewer votes if 400 or fewer votes cast If two or more seats being filled: Same limits, but difference is between the elected candidate with fewest votes and non-elected candidate with most votes M.S. 204C.36
Publicly funded recounts County, Municipal, School District ballot questions difference < .25% of votes cast if votes cast > 50,000, or difference < .5% of votes cast, if votes cast is 400-50,000, or 10 or fewer votes if 400 or fewer votes cast M.S. 204C.36
Discretionary recounts May be requested when difference is greater than for publicly funded recount Jurisdiction pays if: Winner of race is changed by the recount, or Vote result changes by greater than .5% M.S. 204C.35, 204C.36
Publicly Funded Recount Requests State, Federal and Judicial candidates: Must submit request in writing by 5 pm on second day after canvass To Secretary of State if: Federal office State office voted on in more than one county To County Auditor if: State office voted on in only one county M.S. 204C.35
Publicly Funded Recount Requests - County, School, Municipal candidates: Must submit request in writing to filing officer After primary or special primary: By 5 pm on fifth day after canvass After general or special election: By 5 pm on seventh day after canvass M.S. 204C.36
Publicly Funded Recount Requests County, School, Municipal ballot questions: Must submit request in writing to filing officer After primary or special primary: By 5 pm on fifth day after canvass After general or special election: By 5 pm on seventh day after canvass Request by any person eligible to vote on question Must include a petition containing signatures of 25 voters eligible to vote on question M.S. 204C.36
Discretionary Recount Requests State, Federal and Judicial candidates: Must submit request in writing by 5 pm during contest period with filing officer Must also include bond, cash or surety to cover recount expenses May list up to three precincts to be counted first May waive balance of recount after these have been counted M.S. 204C.35
Discretionary Recount Requests County, School, Municipal candidates: Same time period as publicly funded request Must also include bond, cash or surety to cover recount expenses May list up to three precincts to be counted first May waive balance of recount after these have been counted M.S. 204C.36
Discretionary Recount Requests County, School, Municipal ballot questions: Same as publicly funded recount request, plus Must also include bond, cash or surety to cover recount expenses M.S. 204C.36
Administering Recounts
Recount Official Secretary of State: Statewide & federal offices Multi-county state senate or representative County Auditor: Single county state senate or representative county offices/questions Municipal Clerk: Municipal offices/questions School Clerk: School offices/questions M.S. 204C.35, 204C.36, M.R. 8235.0200
Delegating recount duties Recount official may delegate to a county auditor or municipal clerk by mutual consent OSS has designated county auditors and municipal clerks as Deputy Recount Officials If recount official is candidate or close relative of candidate for office being recounted, canvassing board must select another county auditor or municipal clerk M.R. 8235.0200
Recount Notice Recount official sends notice to candidates and auditor of each county in district For publicly funded recounts, within 24 hours after determining recount is authorized and requested For discretionary recounts, within 48 hours after receiving written request and filing of security deposit M.R. 8235.0300
Recount Notice Recount notice must include Date of recount Starting time Location # of tables Office or question being recounted Name of recount official Statement that the recount is open to public Election jurisdictions must make space, equipment, and facilities available without charge M.R. 8235.0300, 8235.0600
Recount Preparation Review OSS Recount Guide Prepare detailed oral and written instructions for recount conduct Determine staffing needs Recommend 1 sorter and 2 counters per counting table Identify roles using name badges Check on available parking Create guidelines for release of information
Securing Election Materials Keep all election materials in secure location May process EDRs & post voter history All other materials kept by precinct as returned by Election Judges Secure until recount is completed and contest period expires After contest period has expired, remove other supplies such as posters, pens, etc. keeping ballots secure M.R. 8235.0400
Materials to have on hand Precinct Summary Statements Precinct boxes or sealed containers of voted ballots (including absentee and write-ins) Recount Incident Log Recount Summary Statements Challenged ballot labels Other materials requested by Recount Official M.R. 8235.0700, 8235.0800
Recount Summary Statement Can create summary statement using ERS recount module for federal, state offices ERS optional for county offices Template from OSS (in ERS User Documentation) Own resources
Organizing the Facilities Staging Area Table officials only Sorting/Counting Area Table officials plus candidates or their representatives Representatives must present written credentials Lead representative for each recount location 1 representative per candidate during sorting 2 representatives per candidate during counting Viewing area Public, media, additional candidate representatives All areas should be visible from viewing area M.R. 8235.0700
Preparing the Ballots Ballot containers opened and resealed in public view Log breaking of any seals, record any new seal numbers Table officials first open containers of ABs, including write-ins, sort by precinct, and seal envelopes by precinct ABs and polling place ballots for a precinct combined and counted together All ballots counted for a precinct are reported as one total M.S. 204C.22, M.R. 8235.0800
