Except as provided, discovery recounts and election contests shall be conducted as otherwise provided for in this Code. The automatic Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan Technology tabulating equipment shall be tested prior to the discovery recount or election contest as provided in Section 24B-9, and then the official ballots shall be recounted on the automatic tabulating equipment. In addition, (a) the ballots shall be checked for the presence or absence of judges’ initials and other distinguishing marks, and (b) the ballots marked “Rejected”, “Defective”, “Objected To”, “Early Ballot”, and “Vote by Mail Ballot” shall be examined to determine the propriety of the labels, and (c) the “Duplicate Vote by Mail Ballots”, “Duplicate Overvoted Ballots”, “Duplicate Early Ballot”, and “Duplicate Damaged Ballots” shall be compared with their respective originals to determine the correctness of the duplicates.
     Any person who has filed a petition for discovery recount may request that a redundant count be conducted in those precincts in which the discovery recount is being conducted. The additional costs of a redundant count shall be borne by the requesting party.

Terms Used In Illinois Compiled Statutes 10 ILCS 5/24B-15.1

  • Computer operator: means any person or persons designated by the election authority to operate the automatic tabulating equipment during any portion of the vote tallying process in an election, but shall not include judges of election operating vote tabulating equipment in the precinct. See Illinois Compiled Statutes 10 ILCS 5/24B-2
  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • equipment: includes apparatus necessary to automatically examine and count votes as designated on ballots, and data processing machines which can be used for counting ballots and tabulating results. See Illinois Compiled Statutes 10 ILCS 5/24B-2
  • Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan Technology: means the capability to examine a ballot through electronic means and tabulate the votes at one or more counting places. See Illinois Compiled Statutes 10 ILCS 5/24B-2
  • Redundant count: means a verification of the original computer count by another count using compatible equipment or by hand as part of a discovery recount. See Illinois Compiled Statutes 10 ILCS 5/24B-2

     The log of the computer operator and all materials retained by the election authority in relation to vote tabulation and canvass shall be made available for any discovery recount or election contest.