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.