SB 102

This bill provides that any candidate voted for at any election who is an

aggrieved party or any elector who voted on any referendum question at any election

may petition for a recount. The bill defines an “aggrieved party” as any of the

following:

1. For an election at which 4,000 or fewer votes are cast for the office that the

candidate seeks, a candidate who trails the leading candidate by no more than 40

votes after the official canvass.

2. For an election at which more than 4,000 votes are cast for the office that the

candidate seeks, a candidate who trails the leading candidate by no more than 1

percent of the total votes cast for that office after the official canvass.

Current law allows any candidate to petition for a recount regardless of the

difference between the votes cast for the petitioner and those cast for the leading

candidate. Under current law, and under the bill, if the difference between the votes

cast for the petitioner and those cast for the leading candidate is more than 0.25

percent of the total votes cast for the office that the candidates seek, the petitioner

must pay a fee equal to the actual cost of performing the recount.

The bill also provides that the actual cost of performing a recount includes the

actual cost incurred by the Elections Commission to provide services for performing

the recount and allows the commission to recover that cost. In addition, under the

bill, a person must file a petition for a recount no later than 5 p.m. on the first

business day following the last meeting of the board of canvassers and the county

board of canvassers may convene to conduct the recount no later than 9 a.m. on the

third day after receiving the order for a recount. Under current law, a person must

file a petition for a recount no later than 5 p.m. on the third business day following

the last meeting of the board of canvassers and the county board of canvassers may

convene to conduct the recount no later than 9 a.m. on the second day after receiving

the order for a recount.

Finally, the bill changes the deadline for a petitioner to pay any balance owing

toward the fee for the recount from 30 days after the petition is filed to 45 days after

the petition is filed. The bill also changes the deadline for the clerk to issue a refund

of any overpayment from 30 days after the board of canvassers makes its

determination to 45 days after the determination.