§ 24.2-638. Voting equipment to be in plain view; officers and others not permitted to see actual voting; unloc...
During the election, the exterior of the voting and counting equipment and every part of the polling place shall be in plain view of the officers of election.
No voting or counting equipment shall be removed from the plain view of the officers of election or from the polling place at any time during the election and through the determination of the vote as provided in § 24.2-657. However, an electronic voting device that is so constructed as to be easily portable may be taken outside the polling place pursuant to subsection A of § 24.2-649 and to assist a voter age 65 or older or physically disabled so long as: (i) the voting device remains in the plain view of two officers of election representing two political parties or, in a primary election, two officers of election representing the party conducting the primary, provided that if the use of two officers for this purpose would result in too few officers remaining in the polling place to meet legal requirements, the equipment shall remain in plain view of one officer who shall be either the chief officer or the assistant chief officer; (ii) the voter casts his ballot in a secret manner unless the voter requests assistance pursuant to § 24.2-649; and (iii) there remain sufficient officers of election in the polling place to meet legal requirements. After the voter has completed voting his ballot, the officer or officers shall immediately return the voting device to its assigned location inside the polling place. The machine number, the time that the machine was removed and the time that it was returned, the number on the machine's public counter before the machine was removed and the number on the same counter when it was returned, and the name or names of the officer or officers who accompanied the machine shall be recorded on the statement of results. In the case of an emergency that makes a polling place unusable or inaccessible, voting or counting equipment may be removed to an alternative polling place pursuant to the provisions of subsection D of § 24.2-310.
The equipment shall be placed at least four feet from any table where an officer of election is working or seated. The officers of election shall not themselves be, or permit any other person to be, in any position or near any position that will permit them to observe how a voter votes or has voted.
One of the officers shall inspect the face of the voting device after each voter has cast his vote and verify that the ballots on the face of the device are in their proper places and that the device has not been damaged. During an election the door or other covering of the counter compartment of the voting or counting device shall not be unlocked or open or the counters exposed except for good and sufficient reasons, a statement of which shall be made and signed by the officers of election and attached to the statement of results. No person shall be permitted in or about the polling place except the voting equipment custodian, vendor or contractor technicians, and other persons authorized by this title.
(Code 1950, § 24-305; 1962, c. 260; 1970, c. 462, § 24.1-215; 1985, c. 458; 1993, c. 641; 2004, cc. 978, 993, 1006, 1010.)
Sections: Previous 24.2-631 24.2-632 24.2-633 24.2-634 24.2-635 24.2-636 24.2-637 24.2-638 24.2-639 24.2-640 24.2-641 24.2-642 24.2-643 24.2-644 24.2-645 NextLast modified: April 16, 2009