§ 759. Counting and reporting results of vote by Australian ballot
(a) Process if commingled. If the voters have approved the commingling of votes cast by Australian ballot for any or all categories of public questions, including elections and budget votes, or if Vermont law requires commingling, then the following process applies to those votes except to the extent that Vermont law explicitly requires a different process for a specific type of public question.
(1) At least two members of the board of civil authority of each town within a union elementary or union high school district, or two election officials appointed by the board of civil authority of that town, shall transport ballots cast in the member district in a sealed container to a central location designated by the clerk of the union elementary or union high school district.
(2) The boards of civil authority shall not count the ballots for purposes of determining the outcome of the votes cast in the member district prior to transporting them but may open the containers and count the total number of ballots cast at that polling location.
(3) The union elementary or union high school district clerk or designee shall supervise representatives of the boards of civil authority to count ballots at the central location. The union elementary or union high school district clerk shall also have the authority to appoint current union elementary or union high school district board members who are not on the ballot to aid in the counting of ballots
(4) The ballots shall be counted as soon as possible, but not later than 24 hours after the time at which the polls closed.
(5) If ballots are to be counted on the day following the election, then the clerk of each member district shall store the ballots in a secure location until they are transported on the following day to the central location designated by the union district clerk for counting.
(6) Ballots from all member districts shall be combined into a single group before counting and shall not be counted according to the member district or town in which a voter resides.
(7) After the ballots have been counted, the union district clerk shall seal them in a secure container and store them for at least 90 days at a secure location.
(8) The union district clerk shall report the commingled results of votes cast within the union elementary or union high school district to the public.
(b) Process if not commingled. If the voters have not approved the commingling of votes cast by Australian ballot for budgets, elections, or any other category of public question, and if Vermont law does not require commingling, then the following process applies to those votes except to the extent that Vermont law explicitly requires a different process for a specific type of public question.
(1) The board of civil authority of each town within the union elementary or union high school district shall count Australian ballots cast in the member district and report the results to the clerk of the union district.
(2) The clerk of the union district shall calculate total votes cast within the union district for any vote that requires approval by the electorate of the entire union elementary or union high school district, rather than approval by the voters in one member district or by the voters in each member district separately.
(3) The union district shall report to the public the results of total votes cast; provided, however, that both the union district clerk and the clerk of each member school district shall report the results of ballots cast to elect a union school district board member where membership on the board is apportioned based on town population pursuant to subdivision 748(a)(1) of this chapter. (Added 2021, No. 176 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. June 7, 2022.)