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An Act To Adjust the Timing for Recounts in Certain Municipal and Local School Elections
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §1466, sub-§14, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 580, §9, is amended to read:
 
A. If, within 710 business days of the computation and recording of the results of the voting, the municipality requests to the commissioner in writing a recount of the votes, the commissioner shall immediately cause the checklists and all the ballots cast in the municipality to be collected and kept at the commissioner's office so they may be recounted by the municipality. If the municipality counts all ballots by hand, a recount must be performed under this paragraph if the total vote difference is 10 votes or fewer.
Sec. 2. 30-A MRSA §2531-B, first ¶, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 255, §7, is amended to read:
A recount for an election for municipal office must be performed by a municipal clerk or the clerk's designee pursuant to the provisions of Title 21-A, section 737-A and the rules adopted pursuant to Title 21-A, section 737-A, except that a written request for a recount must be filed with the Secretary of State within 10 business days after the election and the provisions of Title 21-A, section 737-A, subsections 1, 5 and 12 and the duties of the State Police do not apply to this section. Except for the municipal clerk or the municipal clerk's designee, an election official as defined in Title 21-A, section 1, subsection 14 or an official of a municipal police department performing an official duty in a recount, an employee or elected official of the municipality or a candidate in an election may not participate in a recount of that election under this section.
Sec. 3.  30-A MRSA §2531-B, sub-§4  is enacted to read:
 
4.  Recount required for close elections with hand-counted ballots.     If a municipality counts all ballots by hand, a recount must be performed by the municipal clerk or the clerk's designee if the total vote difference is 10 votes or fewer.
Sec. 4. 30-A MRSA §2532, as amended by PL 2011, c. 255, §8, is further amended to read:
§ 2532.Referendum recount procedure
In the case of a referendum, a recount must be granted upon written application of 10% or 100, whichever is less, of the persons whose names were checked on the voting list at any town referendum or ballot question under section 2105 or 2528, or any city referendum. The time limits, rules and all other matters applying to candidates under section 2531-B apply equally to applicants for the recount. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the method of conducting a referendum recount is governed by Title 21-A, section 737-A. If a municipality counts all ballots by hand, a referendum recount must be performed under this section if the total vote difference is 10 votes or fewer.
 
SUMMARY
This bill changes the deadline for requesting a recount in a municipal, local school or local referendum election to 10 business days after the election. It also provides that in a municipality that counts all ballots by hand, a recount is automatically triggered in a municipal, local school or local referendum election if the total vote difference is 10 votes or fewer.