To ensure the safety of its contents, the ballot boxes should be resealed, with all the ballots inside, before returning the boxes to the planned location for ballot boxes already counted. This is very important in case of a recount.
In certain jurisdictions, all forms such as count sheets, the voting record book, and the voter's list are also put into the ballot box along with the ballots before sealing. The ballot box's statement of the vote should not be added to the other documents, but put in a separate envelope and attached to the outside of the ballot box.
However, this envelope should itself be sealed to make sure that no unauthorised person has access to the results and any attempted changes can be detected by higher authorities. A copy of the statement of the vote should already have been transmitted to the person in charge of combining the results for the counting centre.
Ballots are placed in bundles, by category (candidates, parties, rejected ballots, spoiled ballots, unused ballots, etc.) in the ballot box.
Once all the ballots and relevant forms are in the box, the box may be sealed and transferred to the planned location in the counting centre for ballot boxes already counted. The seal number should be written on the statement of the vote and attached, in a sealed envelope, to the ballot box.
Even if all the envelopes or plastic bags are sealed, it is still important to reseal the ballot box. In the event of a recount, all these documents are needed; thus the elaborate precautions for sealing the ballot box contents.
If a paper seal is used, for additional security, some jurisdictions require that the counting officers as well as representatives of political parties and candidates sign the ballot box seal.
