§ 15272 Ballot Counting Transparency Rules

• •Vote counting must be done in public.
• •The count cannot be paused; it must go on until finished.
• •Ballots and the tally sheet must stay visible to observers the whole time.

A high school holds a student council election. After voting ends, the teachers count the ballots in the school gym where students can see the process, and they keep counting straight through without taking a break until the winner is announced.

Because the law requires the count to be public and continuous, the teachers must not pause the counting and must keep the ballots and the sheet showing the totals in plain sight for the students watching.