(2) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, ballots for absent electors shall be counted and returns shall be made, as nearly as possible, in the same manner as for other ballots cast at the election. [Amended by 1957 c.641 §6; 1961 c.92 §1; 1979 c.190 §209; 1991 c.107 §9; 1999 c.410 §30; 2013 c.520 §3; 2015 c.169 §1; 2021 c.551 §23]