B. Ballot adjudication shall use the following rules:
1. A vote shall be counted if the oval preceding the name of the candidate or answer to a proposition question is wholly or partially filled-in.
2. A failure to properly mark a ballot as to one or more candidates or proposition questions does not itself invalidate the entire ballot.
3. If a voter marks fewer names than there are persons to be elected to the office, a vote shall be counted for each candidate properly marked.
4. If a voter marks more names than there are persons to be elected to the office, the votes for candidates to that office shall not be counted. Marks for both a write-in and a candidate named on the ballot shall not be counted, unless the write-in name is the same as the candidate printed on the ballot marked by the voter.
5. If a voter has filled in more than one oval when voting for candidates and answers to proposition questions but has marked with a strikethrough or "X" or slash across one oval or name or answer, or both, the ballot shall be treated as indicating the voter's intent to not vote for the candidate or answer so stricken:
6. To invalidate a vote without making an alternate choice, the voter must vote and strike through more than one oval and name or answer.
7. All other overvotes shall not be counted as a vote for any candidate or for an answer to a proposition question, regardless of markings or handwritten notes.
8. The mark specified in 1. of this subsection shall be counted only if it is substantially inside the oval provided, or touching the oval so as to indicate clearly that the voter intended the particular oval to be designated.
9. Improper marks on the ballots shall not be counted and shall not invalidate marks for candidates or propositions properly made.
11. In order to vote for a write-in candidate, the voter should:
a. Write in the candidate's first and last name in the space provided;
b. Mark the oval preceding the candidate's name in accordance with subsection
B.1 of this section; and
c. Not mark ovals for additional candidates for the same office in excess of the number of offices available, except as otherwise provided in this code.
12. A write-in vote shall not be counted for an individual candidate:
a. In a runoff election, because the only qualified candidates in a runoff are the names printed on the ballot; no write-in candidate is qualified;
b. For a service area supervisory board candidate if the candidate has not registered as a qualified write-in pursuant to section
28.30.020; or
c. Except as set forth in subsection
B.12.b above, unless the aggregate of all votes cast for all write-in candidates for the particular office is:
i. The highest number of votes received by any candidate for the office; or
ii. The second highest number of votes received by any candidate and within the margin requiring an automatic recount in section
28.90.025C;
In which case the write-in votes will be allocated to the individual candidates in an automatic recount.
13. A sticker bearing a candidate's name may not be used on the ballot and the vote shall not be counted for that office.
C. The rules set out in this section are mandatory and there shall be no exceptions to them. A ballot or vote shall not be counted unless marked in compliance with these rules, except that when it can be clearly and convincingly determined how the voter intended to vote it shall be counted accordingly. The rejection of a ballot or vote for counting under these rules is a final determination and only reviewed in an election recount or election contest.
D. A registered observer may challenge the adjudication of a vote under this section by:
1. Requesting a brief pause in adjudication to note the ballot number; and
2. Submitting a form to the municipal clerk that sets forth with specificity the rule that has been improperly applied by election officials.
(GAAB 7.05.160—7.05.170; CAC 2.68.260; AO No. 85-75; AO No. 2001-43, § 4, 2-27-2001; AO No. 2002-180, §§ 3—5, 3-24-2003; AO No. 2013-130(S-1), § 6, 1-14-2014; AO No. 2016-12, § 3, 1-26-2016; AO No. 2017-29(S), § 40, 6-1-2017; AO No. 2018-4(S), § 18, eff. retroactively 12-1-2017; AO No. 2020-5(S), § 5, 2-11-2020; AO No. 2020-131(S), § 10, 1-14-2021; AO No. 2021-110(S), § 13, 12-28-2021; AO No. 2022-98, § 9, 12-6-2022; AO No. 2023-124, § 2, 12-5-2023)
