Public inspection of ballots.

(1) The official ballots and ballot cards received from election boards and removed from vote-by-mail ballot mailing envelopes and voter certificates on such mailing envelopes shall be open for public inspection or examination while in the custody of the supervisor of elections or the county canvassing board at any reasonable time, under reasonable conditions; however, no persons other than the supervisor of elections or his or her employees or the county canvassing board shall handle any official ballot or ballot card. If the ballots are being examined prior to the end of the contest period in s. 102.168, the supervisor of elections shall make a reasonable effort to notify all candidates whose names appear on such ballots or ballot cards by telephone or otherwise of the time and place of the inspection or examination. All such candidates, or their representatives, shall be allowed to be present during the inspection or examination.

(2) A candidate, a political party official, or a political committee official, or an authorized designee thereof, shall be granted reasonable access upon request to review or inspect ballot materials before canvassing or tabulation, including voter certificates on vote-by-mail envelopes, cure affidavits, corresponding comparison signatures, duplicate ballots, and corresponding originals. Before the supervisor begins comparing signatures on vote-by-mail voter certificates, the supervisor must publish notice of the access to be provided under this section, which may be access to the documents or images thereof, and the method of requesting such access. During such review, no person granted access for review may make any copy of a signature.