HB 5529 Summary

• Changes the default procedure for absentee ballot counting from optional central location counting to mandatory central location counting, unless registrars mutually agree to count ballots at respective polling places.

• Requires registrars to designate a central counting location in writing at least twenty days before elections and publish the location in the election warning.

• Allows absentee ballots to be counted in polling places only when registrars (or both parties in primary elections with unaffiliated voters) explicitly agree in writing that such counting should occur.

• Establishes procedures for appointing absentee ballot counters and central counting moderators, with restrictions preventing relatives of candidates from counting ballots for those candidates.

• Modifies reporting and checklist procedures to accommodate both central counting and polling place counting scenarios, with separate documentation requirements for each method.