Section 51 in Andhra Pradesh Municipal Corporations (Conduct of Election of Members, Election Expenses and Election Petitions) Rules, 2005
51. Counting of Votes.
(1)Subject to such general or special directions, if any, as may be given by the State Election Commission in this behalf, the ballot papers taken out of all boxes used at more than one polling station in a ward shall be mixed together and then arranged in convenient bundles and scrutinised.(2)The Returning Officer shall reject a ballot paper if ;(a)it bears any mark or writing by which the voter can be identified, or(b)to indicate the vote, it bears a mark made otherwise than with the instrument supplied for the purpose, or(c)votes are given on it in favour of more than one candidate, or(d)the mark indicating the votes thereon is placed in such manner as to make it doubtful to which candidate the vote has been given, or(e)it is a spurious ballot paper; or(f)it is so damaged or mutilated that its identify as a genuine ballot paper cannot be established; or(g)it bears a serial number, or is of a design different from the serial numbers, or, as the case may be design of the ballot papers authorised for use at the particular polling station; or(h)does not bear the mark which it should have borne under the provisions of sub-rule (1) of Rule 19:Provided that where the Returning Officer is satisfied that any such defect as is mentioned in clause (g) or clause (h) has been caused by any mistake or failure on the part of the Presiding Officer or polling officer the ballot paper shall not be rejected merely on the ground of such defect.Provided further that the ballot paper shall not be rejected merely on the ground that the mark indicating the vote is indistinct or made more than once, if the intention that the vote shall be for a particular candidate clearly appears from the way the paper is marked.(3)Before rejecting any ballot paper under sub-rule (1) the Returning Officer shall allow the counting agents present, a reasonable opportunity to inspect the ballot paper but shall not allow them to handle it or any other ballot paper. The Returning Officer shall record on every ballot paper which he rejects the letter "R" and the ground of rejection in abbreviated form either in his own hand or by means of rubber stamp and shall initial such endorsement. All ballot papers rejected shall be bundled together. Every ballot paper which is not rejected under this rule shall be counted as one valid vote provided that no cover containing "Tendered ballot paper" shall be opened and no such paper shall be counted.(4)After the counting of all papers contained in all the ballot boxes used in a Ward has been completed, the Returning Officer shall make the entries in a result sheet in Form XXX and announce the particulars.(5)The decision of the Returning Officer as to the validity of a ballot paper contained in ballot box or of a postal ballot paper or of a vote given on a postal ballot paper shall be final subject to any decision to the contrary given by a tribunal on the trail of an election petition calling in question the election.
