GUIDELINES FOR VOIDING BALLOTS

In union officer elections, questions often arise at the tally of ballots concerning whether an individual vote for a particular office or an entire ballot should be voided. (See Guidelines for Counting Ballots Appendix C. A voter may have marked more than one box for a given office. crossed out or erased a mark or marked the ballot in such a way that his or her intent is unclear. Watchers may challenge the way the ballot is marked or the Judges of Election themselves may have questions about a voter's intent with respect to a particular office. It is the responsibility of the Judges of Election to decide whether a vote for a particular office or an entire ballot should be counted or voided.

Most importantly, the Judges of Elections' decisions regarding voter intent and voiding ballots must be uniform and consistent. To achieve this, the Judges of Election should discuss ballot voiding rules prior to the tally. Usually, one election official should be designated as the final judge in these decisions to insure that ballots are counted consistently and voided uniformly.

As a general rule, every vote on a valid ballot should be counted if the voter's intent is clear no matter what mark ("X," "Ö" "#" etc.) is used to indicate his or her choice. The Judges of Election should count a vote even if the mark strays outside the box next to a candidate's name. In the absence of specific union rules. marks which do not identify the voter should not cause a ballot to be voided and erasures or "crossouts" should not cause a vote for a particular office to be voided if the intent of the voter is clear. The Judges of Election must void a ballot in its entirety if it contains any marks which identify the voter.

To void ballots properly, OLMS recommends the following procedures.

•  During the tally process. ballots which are voided in their entirety should be marked "void" on the front and initialed by the Judges of Election using a distinctive color ink pen. A brief description of the reason for voiding the ballot should be written on the back of the voided ballot. All totally void ballots should be placed in a separate envelope.
  
• If voter intent is not clear for any office or if too many candidates have been selected for one or more positions. the Judges of Election should void only the particular office involved by lining through the boxes for that office and marking "void" and their initials next to the position being voided.
  
• If a voter fails to vote for any candidate for a position, the Judges of Election should insure that no one can mark the ballot at a later time by lining through the boxes next to the candidates' names and marking "void" and their initials next to the position.
  
• If the Judges of Election rule on the question of voter intent for one or more positions on a ballot, they should circle the name of the candidate being awarded the vote and place their initials next to the position. This will insure that the vote will be counted for the same candidate in a recount.

The Judges of Election should recognize that decisions about voiding ballots are often close calls which require judgment and impartiality. Such decisions may affect the outcome of a given race and can become the subject of heated disputes. By establishing ballot voiding rules and procedures in advance and following these rules uniformly, the Judges of Election can minimize controversy at the ballot tally and reduce the need for recounts.

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APPENDIX E