§ 2602 - Procedure for recounts - Vermont Statutes

§ 2602. Procedure for recounts

(a) In the case of recounts for local elections and recounts for the office of justice of the peace, the procedures for conducting the recount shall be as provided in subchapter 3 of chapter 55 of this title.

(b) In the case of recounts other than specified in subsection (a) of this section, the following procedure shall apply. A petition for a recount shall be filed within 10 days after the election. The petition shall be filed with the superior court, Washington County, in the case of candidates for state or congressional office, or for a presidential election; the petition shall be filed with the superior court in any county in which votes were cast for the office to be recounted, in the case of any other office. The petition shall be supported, if possible, by a certified copy of the certificate of election prepared by the canvassing committee, verifying the total number of votes cast and the number of votes cast for each candidate.

(c) The superior court shall set an early date for the recount, notifying all candidates at least five days in advance. The court shall order the town clerk or clerks having custody of the ballots to be recounted to appoint two election officials who are not members of the same political party who shall transport them to the county clerks of their respective counties before the day set for the recount. County clerks shall store all ballots, still in their sealed containers, in their vaults until the day of the recount. The court shall appoint a sufficient number of impartial voters as a committee to recount the votes.

(d)-(h) [Repealed.]

(i) The secretary of state shall bear the costs of recounts covered under this chapter. (Added 1977, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1979, No. 200 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 90-93; 1985, No. 148 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 3, 4; No. 196 (Adj. Sess.), § 16; 1989, No. 211 (Adj. Sess.), § 5; 2007, No. 54, § 13.)