§ 168.871Recount; eligibility requirements; procedures for conduct of recount; use of

electronic voting system; testing software application; eligible documents.
 Sec. 871.
    (1) Subject to subsection (6), the board of canvassers conducting a recount shall recount all
 ballots of a precinct if both of the following occur:
    (a) The ballots are properly sealed in a ballot container, in a manner that does not allow a
 ballot to be added to or removed from the ballot container, and the seal number on the seal is
 accurately recorded in the poll book, on the ballot container certificate, or on the statement of
 results.
    (b) One of the following occurs:
    (i) The precinct is in balance by matching the number of ballots to be recounted and the
 number of ballots issued in the precinct as shown in the poll book, the number of ballots
 tabulated as shown on the tabulator tape, or the number of ballots cast as shown by the county
 canvass.
    (ii) The precinct was certified as out of balance during the county canvass and remains out
 of balance by an identical or fewer number of ballots after review during the recount.
    (2) If a board of canvassers conducting a recount under this chapter determines that the
 ballots of a precinct are not eligible for recount under subsection (1)(a) or (b), the board of
 canvassers conducting that recount may still conduct the recount if a satisfactory explanation
 in a sworn affidavit, in a form as prescribed by the secretary of state, is provided by an
 election inspector, a clerk, or a member of the clerk's staff to the board of canvassers. An
 explanation must not be accepted by a board of canvassers as satisfactory unless the
 explanation documents that the security of the ballots is otherwise preserved. The secretary of
 state shall prepare and issue instructions for a board of canvassers to follow when determining
 if an explanation in a sworn affidavit is satisfactory under this subsection.
    (3) If a board of canvassers conducting a recount determines that the ballots of a precinct
 are not eligible for recount, the original return of the votes for that precinct must be taken as
 correct.
    (4) A board of canvassers may conduct a recount by the following means:


                                                                     Michigan Compiled Laws Complete Through PA 9 of 2026
Rendered Thursday, April 30, 2026              Page 433 of 478                               Courtesy of legislature.mi.gov

    (a) A manual tally of the ballots.
    (b) A tabulation of the ballots on an electronic voting system using a software application
 designed to specifically count only the office or ballot question subject to the recount.
    (c) A tabulation of the ballots on an electronic voting system using the same software
 application used on election day.
    (d) Any combination of methods in subdivision (a), (b), or (c), as determined appropriate by
 the board of canvassers.
    (5) If a board of canvassers intends to conduct a recount on an electronic voting system, the
 board of canvassers must first test the software application by use of a test deck to determine if
 the program accurately counts the votes for the office or ballot question subject to the recount.
 If the test fails to show that the software application accurately counts the votes for the office
 or ballot question subject to the recount, the board of canvassers must use another means
 prescribed in subsection (4) to conduct the recount.
    (6) The only documents that a board of canvassers may use to determine whether a precinct
 may be recounted are the poll book, the poll lists, the statement of results, the ballot container
 certificate, the total ballots counted by a tabulator, the county canvass notations on the number
 of ballots and electors in the poll book, affidavits, and tabulator tapes.