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<section article="gel" article_name="Election Law" number="11-303" title_number="11" title_name="Canvassing" subtitle_number="3" subtitle_name="Vote Canvassing by Local Board">
  <level label="a">
    <text>Following an election, each local board shall meet at its designated counting center to canvass the provisional ballots cast in that election in accordance with the regulations and guidelines established by the State Board.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="b">
    <text>A local board may not open an envelope of a provisional ballot until the local board has approved the provisional ballot application.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="c">
    <text>The State Board shall adopt regulations to implement this section.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="d">
    <level label="1">
      <text>Subject to § 11–303.2 of this subtitle, a local board may not reject a provisional ballot except by unanimous vote and in accordance with regulations of the State Board.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>The local board shall reject a provisional ballot if:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>pursuant to paragraph (4) of this subsection, the local board determines that the individual who cast the provisional ballot is not qualified to vote that provisional ballot;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>the individual failed to sign the oath on the provisional ballot application; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>the local board determines that a provisional ballot is intentionally marked with an identifying mark that is clearly evident and placed on the ballot for the purpose of identifying the ballot.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>If the intent of the voter with respect to a particular contest is not clearly demonstrated, the local board shall reject only the vote for that contest.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="4">
      <text>For the purposes of this section, an individual is qualified to vote the provisional ballot cast if the local board determines that:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>the individual is registered in the State;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>if the provisional ballot was cast because the voter failed to provide required identification, the individual who cast the provisional ballot has met the identification requirements established by the State Board;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>if the provisional ballot was cast during a period covered by a court order or other order extending the time for closing the polls, the order has not been invalidated by a subsequent court order; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iv">
        <text>if the provisional ballot was cast because the voter claimed a different political party affiliation from the political party affiliation on record for the voter, the voter made a selection in a nonpartisan board of education contest on the ballot.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="e">
    <text>A local board shall count:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>the entire provisional ballot if the address on the provisional ballot application is within the precinct where the provisional ballot was cast;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>only the votes cast by the voter for each candidate or question applicable to the precinct in which the voter resides, as determined by the address on the provisional ballot application of the voter; or</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>only the votes cast by the voter in a nonpartisan board of education contest if the voter cast a provisional ballot for a different political party from the political party affiliation on record for the voter.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="f">
    <level label="1">
      <text>The State Board shall ensure the establishment of a system that any individual who casts a provisional ballot may access without cost to discover whether the ballot was counted and, if not counted, the reason it was not.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>The system established under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall ensure the confidentiality of the individual who accesses the system and the secrecy of each ballot.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
</section>
