Section 17-9-23

Enumeration and duties of election officers; length of time elector may remain in booth; challenging of voters.

The election officers for each voting machine shall consist of an inspector, a chief clerk, and a first and second assistant clerk. The inspector shall be in general charge of the poll and shall see that the chief clerk properly marks off from the list of registered voters, and that the first assistant clerk properly records the name of each voter before the voter casts his or her ballot, and shall keep such other records as are required by law. It shall be the duty of the second assistant clerk to attend the voting machine at all times and to see that it is not tampered with. The second assistant clerk shall also inspect the ballot labels at frequent intervals to see that none have been tampered with and to see that the machine has not been injured. The inspector shall see that the counter compartments of the machine are never unlocked or opened so that the counters are exposed during voting. The election officers shall ascertain, as required by law, whether each applicant to vote is entitled to vote. If he or she is found to be entitled to vote, he or she shall be permitted to vote.

No voter shall remain within the voting booth an unreasonable length of time, and, if the voter refuses to leave after a reasonable period, the voter shall be removed by the election officers; provided, that they may grant the voter a longer time if other voters are not waiting to vote.

All laws now existing or as hereafter amended relating to provisional voting, insofar as practicable, shall relate to elections held with voting machines. Wherever in any election held under this chapter, the right of any voter to cast his or her ballot shall have been challenged under this section, the provisional voter, after having first complied with provisions of the laws referred to in this section, shall be permitted to cast his or her ballot by means of the “provisional ballot.”

(Acts 1939, No. 292, p. 443; Code 1940, T. 17, §105; Act 2003-313, p. 733, §2.)