                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

CENTRAL ABSENTEE VOTER PRECINCTS; COUNTING BALLOTS (§ 24.2-712)

A. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the governing body of each county
or city shall establish one or more central absentee voter precincts in the
courthouse or other public buildings for the purpose of receiving, counting, and
recording absentee ballots cast in the county or city. A central absentee voter
precinct shall be made by the governing body by ordinance; the ordinance shall
state for which elections the precinct shall be used. The decision to abolish
any absentee voter precinct shall be made by the governing body by ordinance.
Immediate notification of either decision shall be sent to the Department of
Elections and the electoral board.

B. Each central absentee voter precinct shall have at least three officers of
election as provided for other precincts. The number of officers shall be
determined by the electoral board and general registrar.

C. If any voter brings an unmarked ballot to the central absentee voter precinct
on the day of the election, he shall be allowed to vote it. If any voter brings
an unmarked ballot to the general registrar on or before the day of the
election, he shall be allowed to vote it, and his ballot shall be delivered to
the absentee voter precinct.

D. Absentee ballots shall be processed as required by &#xA7; 24.2-709.1 by the
officers of election at the central absentee voter precinct prior to the closing
of the polls. In the case of machine-readable ballots, the ballot container
shall be opened and the absentee ballots shall be inserted in the counting
machines prior to the closing of the polls in accordance with procedures
prescribed by the Department of Elections, including procedures to preserve
ballot secrecy, but no ballot count totals by the machines shall be transmitted
outside of the central absentee voter precinct until after the closing of the
polls.
			In the case of absentee ballots that are counted by hand, the officers of
election shall begin tallying such ballots at any time after noon on the day of
the election in accordance with the procedures prescribed by the Department of
Elections, including procedures to preserve ballot secrecy. No counts of such
tallies shall be determined or transmitted outside of the central absentee voter
precinct until after the closing of the polls.
			The use of cellular telephones or other communication devices shall be
prohibited in the central absentee voter precinct during such processing and
tallying and until the closing of the polls. Any person present in the central
absentee voter precinct shall sign a statement under oath that he will not
transmit any counts prior to the closing of the polls. Any person who transmits
any counts in violation of this section is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

E. As soon as the polls are closed in the county or city, the officers of
election at the central absentee voter precinct shall proceed promptly to
ascertain and record the total vote given by all absentee ballots and report the
results in the manner provided for counting and reporting ballots generally in
Article 4 (&#xA7; 24.2-643 et seq.) of Chapter 6.

F. The electoral board or general registrar may provide that the officers of
election for a central absentee voter precinct may be assigned to work all or a
portion of the time that the precinct is open on election day subject to the
following conditions:

   1. The chief officer and the assistant chief officer, appointed pursuant to
   &#xA7; 24.2-115 to represent the two political parties, are on duty at all
   times; and

   2. No officer, political party representative, or other candidate
   representative shall leave the precinct after any ballots have been counted
   until the polls are closed and the count for the precinct is completed and
   reported.

G. The general registrar may provide that the central absentee voter precinct
will open after 6:00 a.m. on the day of the election provided that the office of
the general registrar will be open for the receipt of absentee ballots until the
central absentee voter precinct is open and that the officers of election for
the central absentee voter precinct obtain the absentee ballots returned to the
general registrar&#8217;s office for the purpose of counting the absentee
ballots at the central absentee voter precinct and provided further that the
central absentee voter precinct is the same location as the office of the
general registrar.

HISTORY: 1974, c. 428, § 24.1-233.1; 1978, c. 778; 1991, c. 3; 1993, c. 641;
1994, cc. 287, 742; 1998, cc. 549, 572; 2003, c. 1015; 2006, c. 297; 2008, c.
423; 2013, c. 501; 2014, cc. 540, 552, 576; 2015, cc. 313, 644, 645; 2016, cc.
18, 492; 2017, c. 711; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 471, 522.