25-1447. Inspection of ballots and voting machines; procedure; bond. (a) After a contest has been instituted, either party including any intervenor may request the ballots and voting machines be inspected before preparing for trial. The party applying for such inspection shall file with the clerk of the district court in which the contest is brought a motion, stating that such party cannot properly prepare such party's case for trial without an inspection of such ballots or voting machines and designating the precincts in which the party desires to have ballots inspected, and stating the reasons that such inspection is needed. Thereupon the judge of the court wherein the trial of such case is pending may authorize such inspection or a part thereof, and if so authorized shall name three inspectors, and if there is no intervenor one inspector shall be selected by each of the parties and a third selected by the two inspectors named by the parties. In case either party neglects or refuses to name an inspector, or the two selected inspectors cannot agree on the name of a third inspector, or there is an intervenor, the inspectors shall be named by the judge. The compensation of inspectors shall be the same as for witnesses in civil cases, unless otherwise stipulated.

(b) The party applying for the inspection shall file with the clerk of the district court a bond in the sum of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) if the contest be within a single county; otherwise the bond shall be in a sum to be fixed by the court in its discretion, with such sureties as shall be approved by the court, and conditioned that such party will pay the costs and expenses thereof in case the party fails.

(c) If the contest relates to a state office or to the result determined of a constitutional amendment or other question submitted on a statewide basis, the party applying for the inspection shall designate the precincts in the counties in which such party desires the inspection to be made. If the court authorizes the inspection, it shall order the appointment of as many sets of three inspectors as may be necessary to expeditiously count and inspect the ballots and voting machines, and the same shall be inspected in the office of the legal custodian of the ballots in question. The inspectors in a state contest shall be selected in the manner provided in subsection (a).

(d) The inspection shall be made in the presence of the legal custodian of the ballots or voting machines, and the inspectors shall recanvass the votes cast for the parties to the contest or the question submitted in accordance with the rules for counting votes provided in the applicable Kansas election laws. The inspectors shall make a written report of such recanvass and report the number of votes cast for each of the parties to the contest, or for and against a question submitted, for each precinct that is recounted and report any disputed votes upon which the inspectors cannot agree.

History: L. 1978, ch. 138, § 14; July 1.