All inspectors of elections in the election precincts shall, immediately on the closing of the polls, count the votes polled, and no votes shall be counted until the polls are closed.

In counting, the returning officer or one of the inspectors must take the ballots, one by one, from the box in which they have been deposited, at the same time reading aloud the names of the persons voted for and the office for which such persons are voted for; they must separately keep a calculation of the number of votes each person receives and for what office he receives them; if the elector has marked more names than there are persons to be elected to an office, or if for any reason it is impossible to determine the elector's choice for any office to be filled, his ballot shall not be counted for such office, but this shall not vitiate the ballot so far as properly marked, nor shall any ballot be rejected for any technical error which does not make it impossible to determine the elector's choice, and nothing in the election law shall be construed so as to prevent any elector from voting for any qualified person other than those whose names are printed on the ballot.

In every general, special, primary and municipal election hereafter held in this state, it shall be the duty of the election officials conducting such election, after the closing of the polls and after such officials have completed the count of ballots cast in said election, to attach to the outside of each ballot box used in such election a slip of paper, or other device, showing the total votes received by each candidate voted for in such election.

The provisions of this section shall have no application in those counties or municipalities in which voting machines are used.

The inspectors must count the ballots deposited in the box, and as soon as all the ballots contained in the box are counted, the inspectors shall roll up the ballots so counted and label the same so as to show for what officer or officers the ballots contained therein were received, and, when so rolled up and labeled, shall be securely sealed; the rejected ballots, if any, shall also be rolled up and labeled as rejected ballots and sealed up as the other parcels; and the packages so sealed up and labeled, together with one poll list, shall also be securely sealed up, shall be returned to and securely fastened up in the box from which such ballots were taken and counted and which shall also be securely sealed and labeled so as to show the nature of its contents and shall be delivered to the returning officer, who shall deliver them to the sheriff.

The sheriff shall keep the ballots six months, and then the packages shall be taken out of the box, without opening or unsealing the packages, and destroyed unless within six months the sheriff having them in custody is notified that the election of some officer for which the election was held will be contested, in which case he must preserve the box containing the ballots cast for such contestant until such contest is finally determined or until such box is demanded by some legally constituted custodian during such contest.

As soon as the ballots are counted, the inspectors shall ascertain the number of votes received for each person and for what office and shall make a statement of the same in writing, which statement shall be signed by them. They shall also certify in writing on one of the poll lists, that the poll list is the poll list of the election precinct at which they were inspectors, the day and year on which the election was held and for what offices, which certificates shall be signed by them. The statement of the poll lists and votes, as certified, shall be sealed up, together with a list of the registered voters in the precinct at the election on such day, in one or more boxes to be furnished by the sheriff of the county for each precinct. The box or boxes shall consist of wood, tin, or sheet iron, be securely fastened by locks, and be directed to the sheriff of the county, if there be one, and if none, then to the person discharging the duties of the office, who shall immediately deliver the same to the returning officer of the precinct. No later than two hours after the polls are closed, the precinct election results as tabulated by the inspectors shall be posted by the inspectors for public inspection at a place in the county courthouse designated by the judge of probate; however, counties that have centralized balloting tabulation as determined by the Alabama Secretary of State may not be required to post the results until January 1, 2006.

The statement of votes and the poll list delivered to the returning officer of the precinct shall be delivered to the returning officer of the county within two hours of departing the precinct.

Any returning officer of the precinct who fails to deliver the statement of votes and poll list to the returning officer of the county, within the time required by law, on conviction, shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500), and shall also be imprisoned in the county jail for not more than six months.

The board of supervisors must, as soon as they have ascertained the result of an election, make on blanks furnished by the Secretary of State certificates stating the exact number of votes cast in the county by precincts for each person voted for and the office for which such person was voted for, and file the certificates with the judge of probate who must immediately forward such certificate as to all members of the Legislature and to all civil officers who are to be commissioned by the Governor, except the Attorney General, Auditor, Secretary of State, Treasurer and Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, to the Secretary of State.

Immediately after the election the inspectors shall post in front of the polling place a copy of their certificate of the result of the election.

One copy of the certificate of the result of the election shall be signed by the inspectors and enclosed in an envelope, which shall then be securely sealed, and each of the inspectors shall write his name across every fold at which the envelope, if unfastened, could be opened. Said envelope, with certificate enclosed, shall be at once delivered to the returning officer of the precinct, who shall deliver the same in the condition received to the judge of probate. The judge of probate shall keep and preserve the same unopened until the board of supervisors meets to ascertain the result of the election. In case of loss, mutilation or absence of the original certificate of the result of the election by the inspectors of any voting place, the envelope shall be opened, and the copy therein shall be accepted as a certificate of the result of the election for that voting place.

(a) The election officials whose duty it is to make election returns for each polling place in any state, county, municipal or local election shall make an additional carbon or duplicate copy thereof at the same time they make the original and shall deliver said additional copy within 24 hours after it is made to the judge of probate, whose duty it shall be to preserve said returns as a public record at least one year from the date of the election.

(b) Any person violating any provision of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor.

(a) When, in a general election, the election returns for any public office, including a judicial office, reflect that a candidate is defeated or any ballot statewide measure is defeated by not more than one half of one percent of the votes cast for the office, or the ballot measure, as certified by the appropriate election officer, a recount shall be held unless the defeated candidate submits a written waiver for the recount as provided herein:

(1) In the case of an election for any federal, state, circuit, or district office, or the state Senate, state House of Representatives, or any other office that is not a county office, a written waiver for a recount may be submitted to the Secretary of State within 24 hours after the certification of the results of the election. Upon receipt of the waiver, the Secretary of State shall immediately order the recount to be cancelled.

(2) In the case of an election for any county office, a written waiver for a recount may be submitted to the judge of probate within 24 hours after the certification of the results of the election. Upon receipt of the waiver, the judge of probate shall immediately order the recount to be cancelled.

(b) Any recount held pursuant to subsection (a) shall be commenced within 72 hours after certification of the results of the election.

(c) The canvassing board shall obtain the polling officials necessary to conduct the recount as required by this section to perform a recount of the vote. The polling officials shall be compensated in the same manner and at the same rate as provided by law for vote tabulation activities in an election that does not result in a recount.

(d) The expenses of a recount conducted pursuant to subsection (a) shall be a state charge if the recount is held for an election for a federal, state, circuit, or district office, or the state Senate, state House of Representatives, or any other office that is not a county office. The expenses of a recount conducted pursuant to subsection (a) shall be a county charge if the recount is held for an election for county office.

(e) If a recount is conducted pursuant to subsection (a), the appropriate certifying authority shall amend the initial certification of the election to reflect the results of the recount.

(f) If a recount is conducted pursuant to subsection (a), the time limit for contesting the election shall be suspended until the vote is recertified, reflecting the results of the recount.

(g) The canvassing authority is the canvassing board in general elections. There being a public interest in fair and accurate elections, costs shall be kept to a minimum by using county personnel or volunteer workers whenever possible. The recount shall be conducted under the supervision of a trained and certified poll official. Representatives of opposing interests shall be given at least 24 hours notice and shall be invited to participate in the recount.

(h) The recount shall be conducted as simply as the type of equipment and local conditions permit provided that the following minimum safeguards are observed. The box or envelope holding the ballots shall be delivered unopened, and still sealed in the original container to the inspector in charge of the recount. A representative of the authority having custody of the ballots shall be present during the recount. The recount shall consist of reading the ballots through the counter. Any ballot that was counted in the original election, but is rejected by the counter in the recount shall be counted by hand. Representatives of opposing interests may participate in the hand recount, and any unresolved disputes over the interpretation of the intent of the voter may be appealed to the canvassing authority.

(i) When the recount has been completed, the ballots shall be returned to their container along with a printout of the recount results. The ballot container shall be sealed and signed by the inspector conducting the recount and by the representative of the authority having custody of the ballots.

(j) If the results of a recount conducted under subsection (a) name as a winner a person other than the person initially certified, the outcome shall constitute grounds for an election contest as now prescribed by law.