Legal Definitions - returning board

A returning board is an official group or committee specifically established to meticulously review, verify, and officially count all the votes and results submitted after an election. Their primary role is to ensure the accuracy, integrity, and final certification of the election outcome.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Example 1: State Gubernatorial Election

  After a hotly contested state gubernatorial election, all county election offices transmit their preliminary vote totals and ballot counts to the state capital. A designated state-level returning board then takes on the critical task of consolidating these results. They meticulously review each county's submission, check for any discrepancies, ensure all absentee and provisional ballots have been properly processed, and finally, officially certify the statewide results, declaring the winner of the governorship.

  This illustrates how a returning board acts as the central authority to "canvass election returns" by compiling, verifying, and certifying the final vote counts from various local jurisdictions to determine the official outcome of a major election.

• Example 2: Municipal Bond Referendum

  A city holds a special election for its residents to vote on a proposal to fund new public parks through a municipal bond. Once the polls close, a city-appointed returning board gathers all the ballot boxes and electronic voting machine data from the various precincts. They meticulously count each "yes" and "no" vote, reconcile the numbers with voter turnout records, and then officially announce whether the bond issue has passed or failed based on the verified vote totals.

  Here, the returning board is responsible for accurately counting and verifying the specific votes cast in a local referendum, demonstrating their role in determining the official outcome of a specific ballot measure.

• Example 3: University Student Government Election

  A large university conducts its annual elections for student government president and council members. While not a governmental body, a designated student affairs committee or an independent student election commission often functions as a returning board. This body collects all the online voting data and any paper ballots, verifies voter eligibility, counts the votes for each candidate, investigates any reported irregularities, and then officially declares the winners of the student government positions.

  This example shows that the concept of a "returning board" can apply even in non-governmental contexts where an official body is tasked with reviewing and certifying election results to ensure a fair and accurate outcome.