Sec. 1. 21-A MRSA §698, sub-§2-A, as amended by PL 2003, c. 447, §23, is further amended to read:

2-A. Used ballots placed in tamper-proof containers. The election clerks shall place the used state ballots, including spoiled ballots, defective ballots, void ballots, used absentee ballots, used absentee envelopes with the applicable applications attached, envelopes containing challenge certificates, and the official tally tape from the electronic tabulating system in one or more tamper-proof ballot containers. The ballot containers must be furnished by the Secretary of State. Ballots and election materials for municipal elections conducted at the same time as a state election must be sealed separately from state ballots and other state election materials. If municipalities wish to use tamper-proof containers to seal municipal election materials, they must obtain the containers and locks at their own expense.

If a state-supplied tamper-proof container or lock becomes defective, lost or destroyed, the clerk must apply in writing to the Secretary of State for another. The Secretary of State shall supply or approve a replacement at the expense of the municipality.

A tamper-proof ballot container must be locked and sealed with a numbered seal before leaving the precinct. The lock and seal numbers must correlate with a certificate identifying the person sealing the container and the time of the sealing. The locks, seals and identifying certificates must be furnished by the Secretary of State.

A. Transfer and resealing of the ballots to other containers for permanent storage must be done 60 or more days following the election. The municipal clerk shall make the transfer in the presence of one or more witnesses. The containers must be securely sealed.

Sec. 2. 21-A MRSA §698, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2003, c. 584, §10, is further amended to read:

5. Two or more voting districts. In municipalities having 2 or more voting districts where absentee ballots are counted at a place other than the voting district, all absentee ballots, applications and envelopes may be packed together in the same container, which shall must then be sealed publicly.

A. The portions of subsections 2-A and 2-B that deal with absentee ballots do not apply to municipalities with 2 or