1. (1) A write-in candidate for election to public office shall be eligible to request a recount of the votes cast in a race:

   1. (a) If, following the initial manual count of all irregular ballots, the write-in candidate shall have received a minimum of ten (10) votes or one percent (1%) of the votes cast in the race, whichever is greater; provided, however, that if no candidates appear on the ballot in said race and only write-in candidates receive votes, a write-in candidate shall be required to receive at least ten (10) votes in the race; and
   2. (b) The write-in candidate shall trail the winning candidate by less than the number of votes as may be required to qualify for a recount pursuant to subsection (1) or (2) of § 17-19-37.1, as is applicable.

2. (2) A write-in candidate for public office who is eligible to request a recount pursuant to subsection (1) of this section may request a recount of the irregular ballots cast at each precinct by a manual recounting of said ballots. In addition, the state board may, upon its own motion, determine to manually re-feed the computer ballots cast at each precinct in the race into the optical scan voting equipment.

   The state board shall have the authority to adopt rules and regulations to implement and administer the provisions of this section.

History of Section.
P.L. 2004, ch. 264, § 2; P.L. 2004, ch. 483, § 2.