13-17-506. Conduct of random-sample audit. - Montana Statutes

     13-17-506. Conduct of random-sample audit. (1) The random-sample audit must be completed at least 1 day before the official canvass by the county board of canvassers.
     (2) The county audit committee shall manually count the votes for the random-sample audit as follows:
     (a) One member shall read the ballot while the remaining members shall each record on an official tally sheet the number of valid votes cast for each of the selected offices and the ballot issue.
     (b) (i) After the vote is complete, the tally sheets of the members recording the votes must be compared.
     (ii) If the tallies match, the county audit committee shall compare the manual count for the selected offices and the ballot issue to the vote-counting machine count for the selected offices and the ballot issue.
     (iii) If the tallies do not match, the count must be conducted again as provided in this subsection (2) until the tallies match.
     (c) (i) If the manual count and the vote-counting machine totals match, the county audit committee shall certify the results to the county election administrator and the secretary of state.
     (ii) If the manual count and the vote-counting machine totals do not match, the county audit committee shall follow the procedures established in 13-17-507.
     (3) The audit process must be public.

     History: En. Sec. 6, Ch. 89, L. 2009.