cord. (1) The vote of any absentee voter may be challenged in the same manner as other votes are challenged, and the election judges may determine the legality of such ballot. If the challenge is sustained or if the judges determine that the self-affirmation accompanying the absentee voter's ballot is insufficient or that the voter is not an eligible elector, the envelope containing the ballot of the voter shall not be opened, and the judges shall endorse on the back of the envelope the reason for rejection. When it is made to appear to the election judges by sufficient proof that any absentee voter who has marked and forwarded a ballot has died, the envelope containing the ballot of the deceased voter shall not be opened, and the judges shall make proper notation on the back of such envelope. If an absentee voter's envelope contains more than one marked ballot, none of the ballots in that envelope may be counted, and the judges shall note on the envelope the reason that the ballots were not counted. If an absentee voter's envelope does not contain all pages of a ballot, only the marked and returned pages shall be counted. Election judges shall certify in their returns the number of absentee voter's ballots cast and counted and the number of such ballots rejected.

1. (2) All absentee voters' envelopes, ballot stubs, and absentee voters' ballots rejected by the election judges in accordance with subsection (1) of this section must be returned to the designated election official. All absentee voters' ballots received by the designated election official after 7 p.m. on the day of the election, together with those rejected and returned by the election judges as provided in this section, must remain in the sealed identification envelopes.
2. (3) If an absentee voter's ballot is not returned or if it is rejected and not counted, the fact shall be noted on the record kept by the designated election official. Such record is open to public inspection under proper regulations.

Source: L. 2014: Entire article added, (HB 14-1164), ch. 2, p. 42, § 6, effective February 18.