§ 17-19-37.1. Recount eligibility - Candidates for public office. A candidate for election or nomination for election to public office shall be eligible to request a recount of the votes cast in his or her race pursuant to the following:

(1) In those races in which a single candidate is elected a candidate who trails the winning candidate may request a recount of the votes cast at each precinct by a manual re-feeding of the computer ballots cast in said race into the optical scan voting equipment provided that the candidate shall trail the winning candidate by less than the following number of votes:

(a) In those races where the number of votes cast is less than or equal to twenty thousand (20,000) the candidate requesting the recount shall trail the winning candidate by two percent (2%) or two hundred (200) votes, whichever is less; in those races where the number of votes cast is between twenty thousand one (20,001) and one hundred thousand (100,000) the candidate requesting the recount shall trail the winning candidate by one percent (1%) or five hundred (500) votes, whichever is less; and, in those races where more than one hundred thousand (100,000) votes are cast the candidate requesting the recount shall trail the winning candidate by one-half of one percent (1/2%) or one thousand five hundred (1,500) votes, whichever is less.

(b) For the purpose of determining recount eligibility, as prescribed in subsections (1)(a) and (3) of this section, the number of votes cast in a race shall include the votes cast for candidates and irregular ballots cast pursuant to § 17-19-31.

(2) In those races in which more than one candidate is elected a candidate who trails the winning candidate may request a recount of the votes cast at each precinct by a manual re-feeding of the computer ballots cast in said race into the optical scan voting equipment provided that the candidate shall trail the winning candidate by less than the following number of votes:

(a) In those races where the number of votes cast is less than or equal to five thousand (5,000) the candidate requesting the recount shall trail the winning candidate by two percent (2%) or fifty (50) votes, whichever is less; in those races where the number of votes cast is between five thousand one (5,001) and twenty thousand (20,000) the candidate requesting the recount shall trail the winning candidate by one percent (1%) or one hundred (100) votes, whichever is less; and in those races where more than twenty thousand (20,000) votes are cast the candidate requesting the recount shall trail the winning candidate by one-half of one percent (1/2%) or one hundred fifty (150) votes, whichever is less.

(b) For the purpose of determining recount eligibility, as prescribed in subsections (2)(a) and (3) of this section, the total number of votes cast in a race shall be determined by dividing the total number of votes eligible to be cast in the race by the number of candidates for whom each voter was eligible to cast votes.

(3) Notwithstanding the requirements of subsections (1)(a) and (2)(a) of this section, a candidate who trails the winning candidate by five percent (5%) or less, but more than the minimum percentage or number of votes as required in subsections (1)(a) or (2)(a) of this section, as applicable, may petition the state board to conduct a recount of the votes cast at each precinct by re-reading the programmed memory device or devices and comparing the results and totals obtained at such recount with the results and totals obtained on election night. If, after said recount, a candidate shall trail the winning candidate by less than the number of votes prescribed in subsection (1)(a) or (2)(a) of this section, as the case may be, the candidate may request a recount of the votes cast at each precinct to subsection (1)(a) or (2)(a) of this section, as is applicable.

The state board shall have the authority to adopt rules and regulations to implement and administer the provisions of this section.

History of Section. (P.L. 1996, ch. 277, § 2; P.L. 1996, ch. 298, § 2; P.L. 2004, ch. 264, § 1; P.L. 2004, ch. 483, § 1.)