Page:Legal Processes for Contesting the Results of a Presidential Election.pdf/8

 any ballot, and the secretary of state is to rule on such protest. An appeal of the recount results may be made within three days of the declaration of the results of the recount to the state ballot law commission, which may determine which candidate received the greatest number of votes. That determination may then be appealed to the state supreme court within five days of the board’s decision. Although there is no specific statutory grounds or cause of action for an election contest to be brought in the case of an election for federal office, the New Hampshire statutes do recognize that nothing in their statutory scheme would necessarily prevent a common law cause of action and recourse “to the superior court on other questions, within the jurisdiction of such court, relating to the legality or regularity of general elections or the results thereof.”

North Carolina provides that election contests are, as a general matter, to be filed with the county board of elections. However, because the county boards may rule that they cannot resolve the issue if an election is in more than one county, and because a petition may be taken up directly by the State Board of Elections, it would appear reasonable to file a petition directly to the State Board of Elections (or at least concurrently with a filing to the county board) with respect to irregularities or misconduct in the votes for presidential electors. The protest must state whether it concerns “the manner in which votes were counted and results tabulated,” or whether it relates to some “other irregularity,” and what remedy the protester is seeking. If the protest involves the manner in which votes were counted and results tabulated, then it must be filed before the beginning of the county board of election’s canvass meeting (or if good cause for delay is shown, it may be filed up to 5:00 P.M. on the second business day after the county board of elections has completed its canvass and declared the results ). If the protest involves some other irregularity, then it must be filed before 5:00 P.M. on the second business day after the county board of elections has completed its canvass and declared the results. The State Board of Elections—when a known group of voters cast votes that were beyond retrieval or where a known group of voters were given an incorrect ballot style—may authorize a county board to allow those voters to recast their votes during a period of two weeks after the canvass by the State Board of Elections. The State Board of Elections may order a new election if (1) Ineligible voters sufficient in number to change the outcome of the election were allowed to vote in the election, and it is not possible from examination of the official ballots to determine how those ineligible voters voted and to correct the totals.

(2) Eligible voters sufficient in number to change the outcome of the election were improperly prevented from voting.

(3) Other irregularities affected a sufficient number of votes to change the outcome of the election. Rh