Delaware Code Title 15 Sec. 5702 – Duties of Court
(a) Whenever the voting machine recording tapes, voting machine certificates, absentee vote tally sheets, write-in vote tally sheets and absentee ballot box for any election district are not produced when the Court convenes or whenever any voting machine is not available by 12:00 noon, the Court may issue summary process against the election officers of such election district or any other persons to bring such documents or objects forthwith into the Court or to make them available for inspection by the Court.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 15 Sec. 5702
- Ballot: means those portions of cardboard, paper or other material to be placed within the ballot frames of a voting machine or to be used for absentee voting in order to list the names of the offices to be voted for, the name of each candidate and the designation of the party by which the candidate is nominated, a space for the voter to write in the name of any candidate of that voter's choice for any office, and the statement of any question submitted with provision for a "yes" or "no" vote. See Delaware Code Title 15 Sec. 101
- Board: means that body of individuals appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate to serve or who otherwise serve as the State Board of Elections in accordance with Chapter 2 of this title, and are, as such, vested with the responsibility and power to see to the administration of the election laws of this State as more particularly defined in this title. See Delaware Code Title 15 Sec. 101
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Department: means the State Department of Elections, consisting of the State Board of Elections and such staff as the Board shall appoint under this title, but shall not include the State Election Commissioner. See Delaware Code Title 15 Sec. 101
- Election officers: means the inspector of election, the 2 judges of election and the clerks of election who are appointed for each election district under § 4702 of this title. See Delaware Code Title 15 Sec. 101
- Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
- Question: means any proposition or other question to be submitted to the voters. See Delaware Code Title 15 Sec. 101
- State: means the State of Delaware; and when applied to different parts of the United States, it includes the District of Columbia and the several territories and possessions of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
(b) Whenever the documents produced do not agree or there is a complaint under oath of fraud or mistake in any such document, or if fraud, mistake or omission is apparent on the face of such document, the Court shall:
(1) Open and examine the necessary voting machines and/or absentee ballot boxes;
(2) Make a recount of the votes contained therein;
(3) Correct any fraud, mistake or omission in any document or paper relating to the election.
(c) Any candidate for statewide office in a general election may apply to the Court for a recount of all the ballots cast and recorded for such office if the number of votes separating such candidate and the closest opposing candidate is less than 1,000 votes or less than one half of one percent of all votes cast for the two candidates, whichever amount is less. Such recount shall thereupon be conducted by the Court at state expense. The request for a recount under this subsection must be presented before the adjournment of the board of canvass for the election in question and any recount that takes place shall not extend beyond the petitioner’s contest.
(d) The Court shall also receive from the Department a report of the number of absentee ballots delivered to each election district, from which it shall determine and make certain that all these ballots are recorded on the absentee vote tally sheets for each election district receiving absentee ballots, either in the total number of ballots counted or in the number of ballots rejected.
(e) If the number of votes separating a candidate and the closest opposing candidate in an election for State Senator, State Representative, or county office is less than 1,000 votes or 1/2 of 1% of all votes cast for the 2 candidates, whichever is less, the Court shall recount the ballots cast in that election at state expense.
21 Del. Laws, c. 38, § ?23; Code 1915, § ?1777; Code 1935, § ?1866; 15 Del. C. 1953, § ?5702; 58 Del. Laws, c. 215, § ?39; 61 Del. Laws, c. 480, § ?19; 65 Del. Laws, c. 519, § ?1; 72 Del. Laws, c. 434, §§ ?2, 3; 75 Del. Laws, c. 232, § ?65; 79 Del. Laws, c. 275, § ?96; 82 Del. Laws, c. 170, § 50;