To
secure their contents, the ballot boxes should be re-sealed, with all the
ballots considered during the count inside, before returning the box to a local
secure storage room. This measure is very important in case of a recount and
therefore the chain of custody must be remained intact.
In
certain jurisdictions, forms such as count sheets, the voting record book, and
the voter's list are also sealed in the ballot box along with the ballots.
The
statement of the vote is often not be sealed with the other documents, but
usually put in a separate tamper-evident envelope and attached to the outside
of the ballot box. However, this envelope should itself be sealed to ensure
that no unauthorized person has access to the results and that senior
authorities can detect any attempted.
A copy
of the statement of the vote has sometimes already been transmitted to the
electoral management body separately from the ballot box before the ballot box
is moved for secure storage. Many jurisdictions require delivery of all
materials to the responsible authority.
The
question of whether or not the voting record book should be sealed in the
ballot box, or placed with the statement of the vote, is an important one. If
the voting record book is used to record transactions that fall outside
ordinary voting, then it can be useful to have it available for inspection if
requested by the electoral management body without having to go before a judge
(which is the case in some jurisdictions).
Access
to it will help to understand any mistakes that have been made regarding the
preparation of the statement of the vote, or other procedures related to vote
counting.
Since
representatives of political parties and candidates are allowed to witness the
official count, they could consult the record book. The voting record book is
an important document, and should be safely kept, sealed in the box, or placed
on the outside of the ballot box in the envelope with the statement of the
vote.
Ballots
(and envelopes where applicable) should be placed in bundles, by category
(candidates, rejected ballots, spoiled ballots, unused ballots) in the ballot
box.
Once
all the ballots and relevant forms are in the box, the box may be sealed and
transported to the local storage room. The seal number, if applicable, should
be written on the statement of the vote or on the acknowledgement of receipt of
the ballot box when delivered to the local storage place. In some jurisdictions the number of the voting station is written
on the outside of the ballot box.
Even if
all the envelopes or plastic bags are sealed, it is still important to re-seal
the ballot box before it is moved. In the event of a recount, all these
documents are needed which explains why elaborate precautions for sealing the
ballot box are important.
If a
paper seal is used, for additional security, some jurisdictions require that
the ballot box seal be signed by the counting officer as well as representatives
of political parties and candidates. Uniquely numbered plastic security seals
are increasingly becoming the standard, as those are sturdier, cheap and easy
to use.
