168.823 Board of county canvassers; power to summon and open ballot boxes; correction of errors; summoning of election inspectors; designation of staff to count ballots and make corrections.

Sec. 823.

    (1) If it is found, upon the convening of the board of county canvassers, that the returns from any of the boards of election inspectors of the several election precincts are missing, incomplete, or incorrect, or for any other reason it is found necessary, then the board of county canvassers shall have power to adjourn from day to day until the returns shall have been procured or corrected.

    (2) The board of county canvassers is empowered to summon the persons having the boxes containing the ballots cast at the election and the keys and seals of the boxes, or having the returns or the poll lists or tally sheets used and made at the elections, to bring the boxes, keys, seals, returns, poll lists, and tally sheets before the board of county canvassers, and the board of county canvassers is authorized to open the boxes and take any books or papers bearing upon the count and return of the election inspectors of the election precincts, but the board of county canvassers shall not remove or mark the ballots.

    (3) The board of county canvassers shall correct obvious mathematical errors in the tallies and returns. The board of county canvassers may, if necessary for a proper determination, summon the election inspectors before them, and require them to count any ballots that the election inspectors failed to count, to make correct returns in case, in the judgment of the board of county canvassers after examining the returns, poll lists, or tally sheets, the returns already made are incorrect or incomplete, and the board of county canvassers shall canvass the votes from the corrected returns. In the alternative to summoning the election inspectors before them, the board of county canvassers may designate staff members from the county clerk's office to count any ballots that the election inspectors failed to count, to make correct returns in case, in the judgment of the board of county canvassers after examining the returns, poll lists, or tally sheets, the returns already made are incorrect or incomplete, and the board of county canvassers shall canvass the votes from the corrected returns. When the examination of the papers is completed, or the ballots have been counted, they shall be returned to the ballot boxes or delivered to the persons entitled by law to their custody, and the boxes shall be locked and sealed and delivered to the legal custodians.