Ballots (and envelopes where applicable) are bundled by
groups of fifty, for example, in order to facilitate keeping a record of the
votes counted. Depending on the number of political parties or candidates, and
depending on the number of counting officers, each counting officer can be
responsible for receiving and counting all ballots cast for one or more
political party or candidate, Later, counting officers can exchange all ballots
cast that they were counting and verify each other's totals.
Counting officers count all ballots, including spoiled and
rejected ballots. Even if not counted as valid, these ballots are important for
the audit trail and will be needed in case of a recount.
To eliminate possible objections over the validity of
ballots, the counting officers should be provided with clear rules of
interpretation of accepted marks on the ballot, and all reasons that should
lead to the rejection of a ballot. Minimizing the interpretation made by the
counting officers makes it easier to make the necessary decisions and reduces
disputes over the validity of ballots.
If the validity of a ballot is challenged or objected to,
then the presiding officer should be the only person entitled to make a
decision, even if the other counting officers are involved in the counting
process. In order to be more consistent in his/her decisions, the counting
officer can put all questionable ballots in one separate pile, decide on all
rejected ballots following the count of valid ones, and then add any additional
valid votes to the appropriate candidate or political party.
Alternatively, the ballots can be separated first, the
questionable ones decided, and then each pile can be counted. For each disputed
ballot, the ballot should be numbered at the back. The same number should be
written in the voting book along with the decision made by the counting
officer.
Ballots
(and envelopes where applicable) are bundled by groups of fifty, for example,
in order to facilitate keeping a record of the votes counted. Depending on the
number of political parties or candidates, and depending on the number of
counting officers, each counting officer can be responsible for receiving and
counting all ballots cast for one or more political party or candidate, Later,
counting officers can exchange all ballots cast that they were counting and
verify each other's totals.
Counting
officers count all ballots, including spoiled and rejected ballots. Even if not
counted as valid, these ballots are important for the audit trail and will be
needed in case of a recount.
To
eliminate possible objections over the validity of ballots, the counting
officers should be provided with clear rules of interpretation of accepted
marks on the ballot, and all reasons that should lead to the rejection of a
ballot. Minimizing the interpretation made by the counting officers makes it
easier to make the necessary decisions and reduces disputes over the validity
of ballots.
If the
validity of a ballot is challenged or objected to, then the presiding officer
should be the only person entitled to make a decision, even if the other
counting officers are involved in the counting process. In order to be more
consistent in his/her decisions, the counting officer can put all questionable
ballots in one separate pile, decide on all rejected ballots following the
count of valid ones, and then add any additional valid votes to the appropriate
candidate or political party.
Alternatively,
the ballots can be separated first, the questionable ones decided, and then
each pile can be counted. For each disputed ballot, the ballot should be
numbered at the back. The same number should be written in the voting book
along with the decision made by the counting officer.
To
count the ballots, the counting officers use a count sheet. The representatives
of political parties and candidates, and the observers observing the count may
have count sheets as well. The official one is the one used by the counting
officer in charge of the count.
The
count sheet is used to facilitate the count. For each vote for each candidate
or party a mark is made on the count sheet. If a mistake is made during the
process, comparison with the count sheets of other counting officers can be
made. If the mistake is still not found, the count should be restarted from the
last point of agreement.
A
verification of the count should be done once the ballots are counted. This
verification is usually done before transmission of the interim results to the
regional or local district electoral office. Verification is important to make
sure that no votes were changed in favour or against one candidate or party.
The total number of ballots cast for each candidate or party, plus the rejected ballots, the unused ballots, and the spoiled ballots should
match with the total of ballots received at the opening of the voting station.
Once
the counting process is over, the ballots are bundled and put back into the
ballot box along with all relevant forms. The statement of the vote is often
transported in a tamper-evident bag carefully attached to the outside of the
ballot box. Both the envelope and the ballot box should be sealed before being
transported to a secure local storage room. All these documents are needed in
case of a recount and the use of precautions for sealing the ballot box
contents are important to ensure that all materials will be available if a
recount is required or officially ordered.
For
greater security, the presiding officer, as well as a representative of the
political parties or candidates sign the statement of vote form and seal the
tamper-evident bag. The presiding officer should keep one official copy in case
of loss.
