recount may be filed by any voter within five calendar days but not later than 5 p.m. on the fifth day, beginning on the 31st day after the election, with the elections official of, and the recount may be conducted within, any or all of the affected counties.

receipt of the copy in writing by electronic delivery to the Secretary of State.

If more than one voter requests a recount of the same office or measure pursuant to Section 15620 or 15621, and at least one request is for a manual recount, the county elections official of a county subject to multiple requests as described in this section shall conduct only one manual recount of the ballots subject to recount, the result of which shall be controlling.

The request may specify the order in which votes are recounted by precinct or by the batch in which the ballots were scanned. In the case of a recount that includes more than one county, the request may specify the order that counties will conduct the recount within the jurisdiction.

Any time during the conduct of a recount and for 24 hours thereafter, any other voter may request the recount of any precincts in an election for the same office, slate of presidential electors, or measure not recounted as a result of the original request.

The voter or the campaign committee, as defined in Section 82013 of the Government Code, represented by the voter filing the recount request, or the voter’s designee, shall, before the recount is commenced and at the beginning of each day following, deposit with the elections official a sum as required by the elections official to cover the cost of the recount for that day. The money deposited shall be returned to the depositor if, upon completion of the recount, the candidate, slate of presidential electors, or the position on the measure (affirmative or negative) for which the declaration is filed is found to have received the plurality of votes cast which it had not received according to the official canvass or, in an election where there are two or more candidates, the

recount results in the candidate for whom the recount was requested appearing on the ballot in a subsequent runoff election or general election who would not have so appeared in the absence of the recount. The depositor shall be entitled to the return of any money deposited in excess of the cost of the recount if the candidate, slate, or position on the measure has not received the plurality of the votes cast or, in an election where there are two or more candidates, the recount does not result in the candidate for whom the recount was requested appearing on the ballot in a subsequent runoff or general election as a result of the recount. Money not required to be refunded shall be deposited in the appropriate public treasury.

elections official is the subject of the recount, the governing body shall appoint an officer, other than the elections official, to appoint and supervise the special recount boards. The appointee shall possess demonstrable experience necessary to conduct a machine or manual recount, including, but not limited to, years of experience as an elections official in the state, experience with current voting systems, and knowledge of the voting system’s key functions. This section does not prevent the office of the elections official that is subject to the recount from taking necessary steps to prepare for the recount during the period in which an alternative qualified officer is sought.

notification of the individuals specified in Section 15628.

Not less than one day prior to commencement of the recount, the elections official shall post a notice as to the date and place of the recount and shall notify the following persons of it in person, by email, or by any federally regulated overnight mail service:

filing ballot arguments for or against any initiative, referendum, or measure placed on the ballot by the governing body the votes for which are to be recounted.

The recount shall be conducted publicly.

the special recount is present to observe the examination.

On recount, ballots may be challenged for incompleteness, ambiguity, or other defects, in accordance with the following procedure:

official is final.

In lieu of the returns as reported in the official canvass, upon completion of the recount showing that a different candidate was nominated or elected, that a different presidential slate of electors received a plurality of the votes, or that a measure was defeated instead of approved or approved instead of defeated, the result of the recount in each precinct affected shall, for all purposes thereafter, be the official returns of those precincts for the office, slates of presidential electors, or measure involved in the recount. If the office, slates of presidential electors, or measure are not voted on statewide, the results of any recount which is not completed by counting the votes in each and every precinct in the jurisdiction within which votes were cast on the

candidates for the office, on the slates of electors, or on the measure in question shall be declared null and void. If the office, slates of presidential electors, or measure are voted on statewide, the results of any recount will be declared null and void where there is not recounted each vote cast statewide for the office, slates, or measure.

Not more than one day after the conclusion of the recount, the elections official shall post a copy of the results of any recount conducted pursuant to this chapter conspicuously in the office of the elections official or on the elections official’s internet website for a period of 30 days following the final day of recount activities. The elections official shall notify the following persons of it in person, by email, or by any federally regulated overnight mail service:

pledged, if the votes recounted were cast for presidential electors.

This chapter does not: