The secretary of state, upon receipt of any such petition for recount, shall immediately notify the county clerk of each county in which are located any precincts included in such petition for recount that a petition for such recount by the board of state canvassers has been filed and the ballots for such precincts shall be carefully preserved. Ballots and boxes shall remain in the possession of city or township clerks until requisitioned by the canvass board. The board of state canvassers, at as early a date as possible after the receipt of such petition and the deposit required, shall investigate the facts set forth in said petition and cause a recount of the votes cast in the several precincts included in the petition.
MCL 168.883