§ 2587. Rules for counting votes
(a)(1) In counting votes, election officials shall attempt to ascertain the intent of the
voter as expressed by markings on the ballot and in a manner that is consistent with
guidance that shall be adopted by rule by the Secretary of State.
(2) If it is impossible to determine the intent of the voter for any office or public
question, the vote shall be counted as a blank or overvote, as the case may be, for
that office or question; but that determination shall not control any other office
or question appearing on the ballot for which the voter’s intent can be determined.
(3) If they have any doubt about the intent of the voter or any other question about a
vote, the election officials counting the vote shall bring it to the presiding officer,
who shall present the question of how to treat the vote to the assembled election
officials. The decision of how to treat the vote shall be made by majority vote of
the election officials who are present.
(b) If the voter marks more names than there are persons to be elected to an office, or
marks contradictory sides on any public question, overvotes equal to the number of
candidates to be elected to the office must be recorded on the tally sheet for that
office or question.
(c)(1) A write-in vote for a candidate whose name is preprinted on the ballot shall be counted
as a vote for that candidate.
(2) A person who receives more than one vote for the same office on any ballot shall be
entitled to one vote, and one vote only.
(d) If the board of civil authority decides by majority vote of those present that any
markings on a ballot were made for the purpose of enabling it to be identified and
the vote traced, so as to defeat the secrecy of the ballot:
(1) that ballot shall be:
(A) rejected;
(B) marked defective and affixed with a note from the presiding officer as to why it was
marked defective; and
(C) placed in the defective ballot envelope in accordance with subsection 2547(b) of this
chapter; and
(2) the election officials may edit the vote tabulator totals reported on the vote tabulator
tape, as necessary.
(e)(1) In the case of “write-in” votes, the act of writing in the name of a candidate or
pasting a label containing a candidate’s name upon the ballot, without other indications
of the voter’s intent, shall constitute a vote for that candidate, even though the
voter did not fill in the square or oval after the name.
(2) The election officials counting ballots and tallying results shall:
(A) count write-in votes:
(i) for candidates who have filed in compliance with section 2370, 2472, or 2702 of this
title or who have filed a consent to the printing of the candidate’s name on the ballot
for a major political party, as provided in section 2361, 2385, or 2402 of this title;
or
(ii) for all candidates if no candidate is printed on the ballot, or if a candidate whose
name is printed on the ballot dies or is otherwise disqualified prior to 7:00 p.m.
on election day;
(B) add together the names of candidates counted under subdivision (A) of this subdivision
(e)(2) that are clearly the same person, even though a nickname or last name is used;
and
(C) record the name and vote totals on the tally sheet only of a write-in candidate having
votes counted pursuant to subdivision (A) of this subdivision (e)(2) and list those
candidates individually, and record all other write-in votes on the tally sheet as
in aggregate as “other write-ins.”
(3) Notwithstanding any contrary provisions in subdivision (2)(A) of this subsection,
if the number of “other write-ins” for the same nomination or office equals or exceeds
the number of votes cast for any candidate for the same nomination or office who appears
to have been nominated or elected, election officials shall record the name and vote
totals on the tally sheet for all candidates for that nomination or office. If this
result occurs in a multiple-municipality district, but one or more municipalities
did not record the name and vote totals for all candidates, the Secretary of State,
on the day after the election, shall order the town clerk to reconvene the board of
civil authority. In the presence of at least two other election officials who are
not members of the same political party, the clerk shall open the ballot containers,
list all write-ins for this nomination or office individually, and record write-in
votes for all candidates. The clerk shall then place the entire contents in containers,
affix new seals, and transmit the new seal numbers.
(f) When the same number of persons are nominated for the position of justice of the peace
as there are positions to be filled, the presiding officer may declare the whole slate
of candidates elected without making individual tallies, providing each person on
the slate has more votes than the largest number of write-in votes for any one candidate. (Added 1977, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1979, No. 200 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 83-85; 2003, No. 59, § 38; 2015, No. 30, § 17a, eff. May 26, 2015; 2017, No. 50, § 43; 2025, No. 70, § 11, eff. June 25, 2025.)