1-14-22: Contests and recounts; provisional, absentee and other paper ballots; use of ballot images.

A. The secretary of state shall issue rules governing and allowing procedures for reviewing the qualification of provisional ballot envelopes, absentee and other paper ballots in the case of a contest or recount of election results. All rejected provisional paper ballot envelopes shall be included in any contest or recount of election results, and a review of the qualification of provisional ballot envelopes shall occur in a recount.

B. Upon petition by the secretary of state or a county clerk, the district court may permit a review of ballot images in place of paper ballots whenever there are defective or missing returns in an election and when the voting system technology captures an image of each ballot in an election.