N.Y. Election Law § 9-116: Tallying ballots; generally

§ 9-116. Tallying ballots; generally. 1. As each vote for any office

or position, or upon any ballot proposal, is announced, a clerk, or, if

there be no clerks, an inspector, under the scrutiny of a clerk or

inspector of opposite political party immediately shall tally it in ink,

with a downward stroke from right to left upon the official tally sheet.

Each such clerk or inspector, as he or she tallies a vote, shall

announce clearly the name of the person for whom he or she tallies it,

or that he or she tallies the vote blank or void as the case may be, or,

in the case of a ballot proposal, that he or she tallies the vote "yes"

or "no". When the name of a person voted for is not printed on the tally

sheet, such clerks or inspectors shall write it in full thereon in ink

in the place provided therefor.

2. When all the votes upon the same office, position or ballot

proposal shall have been canvassed the tally thereof shall be verified

by adding together all the votes tallied thereupon. Whenever the total

number of votes tallied (including blank and void votes) for any office

or party position, divided by the number of persons to be nominated or

elected thereto, or tallied for any ballot proposal, does not exactly

equal the number of ballots cast (including blank and void ballots), a

recanvass must be made immediately in order to correct the error.

In applying this section to a primary election the term "ballots"

means the ballots of the party whose tallied votes for an office or

party position are counted as above provided. Upon a recanvass the

clerks or inspectors must keep the tally in ink from left to right

across the previous tally marks.

3. When the errors if any have been corrected such clerks or

inspectors shall indicate the last tally opposite each name by forthwith

drawing in ink a long horizontal line immediately after the last tally

mark opposite such name. Such tally sheets having thus been prepared,

verified and closed, such clerks or inspectors shall sign their initials

on each sheet, in any blank space thereof.