Section 9-209. Canvass of absentee, military and special ballots and ballots cast by voters with registration poll records missing on days of election or voters who have not had their identity previously verified or who have moved after registering

Before completing the canvass of
  votes cast in any primary, general, special, or other election at  which
  voters  are  required  to  sign  their  registration poll records before
  voting, the board of elections shall proceed in the  manner  hereinafter
  prescribed   to   cast  and  canvass  any  absentee,  military,  special
  presidential, special federal or other special ballots  which  were  not
  cast and canvassed at the polling place, and any ballots voted by voters
  who moved within the county or city after registering, voters who are in
  inactive  status,  voters whose registration was incorrectly transferred
  to another address even though  they  did  not  move,  or  voters  whose
  registration  poll  records  were missing on the day of such election or
  voters who have not had their  identity  previously  verified  or  whose
  registration  poll records did not show them to be enrolled in the party
  in which they claimed to be enrolled. Each such ballot shall be retained
  in the original envelope containing the voter's affidavit and signature,
  in which it is delivered to the board of elections until such time as it
  is to be cast and canvassed.
    1. a. The board of elections shall designate itself  or  such  of  its
  employees  as  it shall deem appropriate as a set of poll clerks to cast
  and canvass such ballots, and fix a time and place for their meeting for
  such purpose, provided that such meeting shall be no more than  fourteen
  days  after  a  general  or special election and no more than eight days
  after a primary election at which such ballots are voted. The board  may
  designate  additional sets of poll clerks and if it designates more than
  one such set shall apportion among all such sets the election  districts
  from  which  such  ballots  have  been  received, provided that all such
  ballots from a single election district shall be assigned  to  a  single
  set  of  clerks, and that each such set shall be divided equally between
  representatives of the two major political parties.  Each  such  set  of
  clerks  shall  be  deemed  a central board of inspectors for purposes of
  this section.
    b. At least five days prior to the time fixed for  such  meeting,  the
  board shall send notice by first class mail to each candidate, political
  party, and independent body entitled to have had watchers present at the
  polls  in any election district in the board's jurisdiction. Such notice
  shall state the time and place fixed by the board for such canvass.
    c. Each such candidate, political party, and independent body shall be
  entitled to appoint such number of watchers to attend upon each  central
  board  of  inspectors as such candidate, political party, or independent
  body was entitled to appoint  at  such  election  in  any  one  election
  district  for  which  such  central board of inspectors is designated to
  act.
    2. a. 1. Upon assembling at the time and place fixed for such meeting,
  each central board of inspectors shall cast and  canvass  the  envelopes
  and the ballots therein contained as nearly as practicable in the manner
  provided  by  this  chapter for a board of inspectors to consider, cast,
  and canvass absentee ballot envelopes and ballots at the polling place.
    2. If the board of inspectors determines that a person was entitled to
  vote at such election it shall cast and  canvass  such  ballot  if  such
  board  finds  that ministerial error by the board of elections or any of
  its employees caused such ballot envelope not to be valid on its face.
    3. If the board of elections determines that a person was entitled  to
  vote  at  such election, the board shall cast and canvass such ballot if
  such board finds that the voter appeared at the correct  polling  place,

  regardless of the fact that the voter may have appeared in the incorrect
  election district.
    b. 1. Such board of inspectors shall also cast and canvass any federal
  write-in  ballots  validly  cast  by  an  absentee,  military or special
  federal voter for the offices of president  and  vice-president,  United
  States senator and representative in congress.
    2.  Federal  write-in  ballots  shall be cast and canvassed only if an
  application for an absentee, military  or  special  federal  ballot  was
  received  from  the absentee, military or special federal voter at least
  thirty days before election day, if  the  federal  write-in  ballot  was
  submitted  from outside the United States, if such ballot is received by
  the board of elections not later than seven days following  the  day  of
  election  and  if the absentee, military or special federal ballot which
  was sent to the voter is not received by the board of elections  by  the
  seventh  day  following  the day of election. If such a federal write-in
  ballot is received after election day,  the  envelope  in  which  it  is
  received  must  contain  a cancellation mark of the United States postal
  service or a foreign country's postal service, or a dated endorsement of
  receipt by another agency of the United States government, with  a  date
  which is ascertained to be not later than the day before election day.
    3.  If such a federal write-in ballot contains the name of a person or
  persons in the space provided for a vote for  any  office,  such  ballot
  shall  be  counted  as  a  vote for such person or persons. A vote for a
  person who is the candidate of a party or independent  body  either  for
  president  or  vice-president  shall be deemed to be a vote for both the
  candidates of such party or independent body for such offices. If such a
  ballot contains the name of a party or independent  body  in  the  space
  provided  for a vote for any office, such ballot shall be deemed to be a
  vote for  the  candidate  or  candidates,  if  any,  of  such  party  or
  independent  body  for  such  office.  In  the  case  of  the offices of
  president and  vice-president  a  vote  cast  for  a  candidate,  either
  directly or by writing in the name of a party or independent body, shall
  also  be  deemed to be votes for the electors supporting such candidate.
  Any abbreviation, misspelling or other minor variation in  the  form  of
  the  name  of  a  candidate  or  a  party  or  independent body shall be
  disregarded in determining the validity of the ballot, if the  intention
  can be ascertained.
    c.  The  following provisions shall apply to casting and canvassing of
  all such ballots which are counted by machine and all  other  provisions
  of  this  chapter  with  respect  to casting and canvassing such ballots
  which are not inconsistent with this paragraph shall  be  applicable  to
  such ballots.
    1. Such ballots shall be counted by placing them, arranged by election
  district, in the counting machine.
    2.  Such ballots may be separated into sections before being placed in
  the counting machine.
    3. Any write-in ballots and any ballots which cannot be counted by the
  machine  shall  be  counted  manually  subject  to  all  the  applicable
  provisions of this chapter with respect to counting of absentee ballots.
    4.  The  record  of the vote counted by machine for each candidate and
  for and against each ballot  proposal,  printed  by  election  district,
  shall  be  preserved  in  the same manner and for the same period as the
  returns of canvass for the election.
    d. Any person lawfully present may object to the refusal  to  cast  or
  canvass any ballot on the grounds that the voter is a properly qualified
  voter  of  the election district, or in the case of a party primary duly
  enrolled in such party, or to the casting or canvassing of any ballot on
  the grounds that the voter is not a  properly  qualified  voter  of  the

  election  district,  or in the case of a party primary not duly enrolled
  in such party, or otherwise not entitled to cast such ballot.  When  any
  such  objection is made, the central board of inspectors shall forthwith
  proceed  to  determine  such  objection  and  reject or cast such ballot
  according to such determination. If the board cannot  agree  as  to  the
  validity  of  the  ballot it shall set the ballot aside, unopened, for a
  period of three days at which time the ballot envelope shall  be  opened
  and the vote counted unless otherwise directed by an order of the court.
    e.   Upon   completing  the  casting  and  canvassing  of  ballots  as
  hereinabove provided for any election district,  the  central  board  of
  inspectors  shall  thereupon,  as  nearly  as  practicable in the manner
  provided in this chapter for absentee  ballots,  verify  the  number  of
  ballots so cast, tally the votes so cast, add such tally to the previous
  tally  of  all  votes  cast  in such election district, and announce the
  result.