                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

INOPERATIVE EQUIPMENT (§ 24.2-642)

A. When any voting or counting machine becomes inoperative in whole or in part
while the polls are open, the officers of election shall immediately notify the
electoral board or general registrar. If possible, the electoral board or
general registrar shall dispatch a qualified technician to the polling place to
repair the inoperative machine. All repairs shall be made in the presence of two
officers of election representing the two political parties or, in the case of a
primary election for only one party, two officers representing that party. If
the machine cannot be repaired on site, the general registrar shall, if
possible, substitute a machine in good order for the inoperative machine and at
the close of the polls the record of both machines shall be taken and the votes
shown on their counters shall be added together in ascertaining the results of
the election.
			No voting or counting machines, including inoperative machines, shall be
removed from the plain view of the officers of election or from the polling
place at any time during the election and through the determination of the vote
as provided in &#xA7; 24.2-657 except as explicitly provided pursuant to the
provisions of this title.
			No voting or counting machine that has become inoperative and contains votes
may be removed from the polling place while the polls are open and votes are
being ascertained. If the officers of election are unable to ascertain the
results from the inoperative machine after the polls close in order to add its
results to the results from the other machines in that precinct, the officers of
election shall lock and seal the machine without removing the memory card,
cartridge, or data storage medium and deliver the machine to either the clerk of
court or registrar&#8217;s office as provided for in &#xA7; 24.2-659. On the day
following the election, the electoral board shall meet and ascertain the results
from the inoperative machine in accordance with the procedures prescribed by the
machine&#8217;s manufacturer and add the results to the results for the precinct
to which the machine was assigned.
			Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the removal of an inoperative
machine from a precinct prior to the opening of the polls or the first vote
being cast on that machine. Any machine so removed shall be placed in the
custody of an authorized custodian, technician, general registrar, or electoral
board representative. If the inoperative machine can be repaired, it shall be
retested and resealed pursuant to &#xA7; 24.2-634 and may be returned to the
precinct by an authorized custodian, technician, general registrar, or electoral
board representative. The officers of election shall then open the machine
pursuant to &#xA7; 24.2-639.

B. In any precinct that uses a ballot that can be read without the use of the
ballot scanner machine, if the ballot scanner machine becomes inoperative and
there is no other available scanner, the uncounted ballots shall be placed in a
ballot container or compartment that is used exclusively for uncounted ballots.
If an operative scanner is available in the polling place after the polls have
closed, such uncounted ballots shall be removed from the container and fed into
the scanner, one at a time, by an officer of election in the presence of all
persons who may be lawfully present at that time but before the votes are
determined pursuant to &#xA7; 24.2-657. If such a scanner is not available, the
ballots may be counted manually or as directed by the electoral board.

C. An officer of election may have copies of the official paper ballot reprinted
or reproduced by photographic, electronic, or mechanical processes for use at
the election if (i) the inoperative machine cannot be repaired in time to
continue using it at the election, (ii) a substitute machine is needed to
conduct the election but is not available for use, (iii) the supply of official
printed ballots that can be cast without use of the inoperative machine is not
adequate, and (iv) the local electoral board approves the reprinting or
reproducing of the official paper ballot. The voted ballot copies may be
received by the officers of election and placed in the ballot container and
counted with the votes registered on the voting or counting machines, and the
result shall be declared the same as though no machine has been inoperative. The
voted ballot copies shall be deemed official ballots for the purpose of &#xA7;
24.2-665 and preserved and returned with the statement of results and with a
certificate setting forth how and why the same were voted. The officer of
election who had the ballot copies made shall provide a written statement of the
number of copies made, signed by him and subject to felony penalties for making
false statements pursuant to &#xA7; 24.2-1016, to be preserved with the unused
ballot copies.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 24-311; 1970, c. 462, § 24.1-221; 1981, c. 570; 1985, c.
458; 1993, c. 641; 2000, c. 282; 2003, c. 1015; 2004, cc. 978, 993, 1006, 1010;
2014, cc. 540, 576; 2016, cc. 18, 492.