(a) The Canvassing Board will meet on the seventh day following each election. The election Canvassing Board shall meet in public session and canvass all election returns. In full view of those present, the election Canvassing Board shall judge the applicability of by mail and absentee ballots, shall open and tally those accepted, and shall compile the total votes cast in the election. The canvass of the ballot vote counted by the precinct election boards shall be accomplished by reviewing the tallies of the recorded vote to check for mathematical error by comparing totals with the precinct’s certificate of results. All obvious errors found by the election canvass in the transfer of totals from the precinct tally sheets to the precinct certificate of results shall be corrected by the Canvassing Board. A mistake which has been made in precinct returns that is not clearly an error in the transfer of the results from the tallies to the certificate of results empowers the Canvassing Board to recommend a recount of the results of the precinct or precincts for that portion of the returns in question. Upon completion of the canvass, the Canvassing Board shall prepare a final certificate of the results of votes cast by absentee ballot and of votes cast by mail ballot, and shall prepare a written report of the results.

(b) The Clerk, as Chair of the Canvassing Board, shall report the results of the election to the Council at the next regular Council meeting following the meeting of the Canvassing Board.