(2) If all of the election returns have not been received, the board shall postpone the canvass from day to day, Sundays and legal holidays excepted, until:

1. (a) all of the election returns are received; or
2. (b) the board has postponed the canvass seven times.

(3)

1. (a) If the election officer has not received the election returns from any voting precinct within seven days after the election, the election officer shall send a messenger to the judges to obtain the missing election returns.
2. (b) The messenger shall obtain the election returns from the judges and return the election returns to the election officer.
3. (c) The election officer shall pay the messenger 10 cents per mile for the distance necessarily traveled.

(4) If the board determines that election returns were not received from a voting precinct because the polls did not open in that precinct, the board shall:

1. (a) sign a certificate attesting to that fact; and
2. (b) file the certificate with the election officer.