Lowell’s Elections Commission opened a hand recount for District 3 ballots shortly after 12:30 p.m., explaining how sealed ballots were opened, repacked into blocks of 50 and will be counted precinct by precinct.

An election official told those present: "we have opened the crates of sealed ballots, counted them into packs of 50, resealed them," and said tally teams and a master tally clerk would record and display precinct totals. Secretary Pope called the meeting to order at 12:33, noting the absence of Chair Murphy.

The commission laid out how observers and campaign agents may register protests during the count. The official instructed observers to announce a protest by saying "protest" or "object," and said protested ballots would not be recorded on the tally sheet until the commission considered them. The official also described a runner protocol: "Raise your hand for one of our runners. Our runners are here. They will retrieve the ballot," who will bring protested ballots and a protest slip to the commissioners.

On questions of voter intent, the commission reiterated Massachusetts guidance: if intent can be reasonably determined — for example, a voter circles a candidate’s name rather than filling the oval — the vote should be counted. The official said write-in spaces are for names not listed on the ballot and that writing the name of a listed candidate in the write-in space would be treated as a blank for that office.

Counsel and agents discussed how tally sheets should be filled. Some agents objected to recording ballots in a particular column-by-ballot format; after discussion the group agreed to use a "graph method" for tallying and tracking block totals, a process the election official said staff would monitor to ensure block totals (50 per block) reconcile with the master tally.

The commission also reserved adjudication of rejected early and absentee ballots until later in the evening. The official identified one absentee ballot in Ward 3, Precinct 4 that the commission will adjudicate at the end of the count.

The commission described credentialing and observer limits: campaign agents will have color-coded tags and the official said, "we are only admitting 12 people per campaign inclusive of the candidate and their council." The body agreed to allow one additional runner per team to assist candidates and counsel in moving tally materials to the master tally.

City solicitor Corey Williams and first assistant city solicitor Gary Boley were present as legal counsel; several candidate agents and attorneys were also in the room for observation. The recount proceeded after these procedures were agreed upon, with the commission planning to pause tallying when ballots are protested and to return protested ballots to the commissioners for possible later adjudication.

The commission did not record a formal roll-call vote on these procedures during the portion of the meeting in the transcript; it proceeded by consensus to begin the recount and use the agreed tally method. The commission also noted its jurisdiction is limited to markings on the ballots during the recount and that contested ballots preserved via protest slips could be litigated later.