Summary of the Process

To facilitate the process of counting, ballots can be bundled by groups of fifty, for example, to facilitate keeping a count of the votes counted. It is desirable for every bundle of ballots to be counted at least twice, with one officer checking the work of the other official.

For example, depending on the number of political parties or candidates and also on the number of counting officers, each counting officer can be responsible for receiving and counting all ballots cast for one or more political parties or candidates. Later the counting officers can exchange all ballots cast that they are counting for ballots counted by another counting officer and verify each other's totals. Verification of counting is very important since those results will be added to the final results.

All ballots are counted, including spoiled, rejected, and unused 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 officer should be provided with clear rules of interpretation of accepted marks on the ballot and all reasons that should lead to rejection of a ballot.

Minimising the interpretation that is needed by the counting officer makes it easier for him to make the necessary decisions and reduces disputes over the validity of ballots.

If the validity of a ballot is objected to or challenged, the counting officer should be the only person able to make a decision, even if other counting workers are involved in the counting process. 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 first separated, then, the counting officer decides on questionable ballots, and then each pile can be counted.

Each disputed ballot should be numbered on the back. The same number should be written on the statement of the vote (or other form, as prescribed) for each ballot box along with the decision made by the counting officer.

To count the ballots, the counting officer often uses a count sheet. The representatives of political parties and candidates and observers may have a count sheet as well. The official count sheet is used by the counting officer in charge of the count for a particular ballot box.

The count sheet is a tool used to facilitate the count. For each vote for each candidate or party, a mark is made on the count sheet. Periodically, the marks for each political party or candidate are added together. Although the count sheet used by the counting officer is the only official sheet. Observers and party/candidate representatives should count along the counting officer to prevent errors or to make observations about the counting in case the results they have is different from the results the counting officer has.

If a mistake is made during the process, comparison with the count sheets of other counting workers 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 the last one made. It is important to make sure that no votes were changed during the count in favour or against one candidate or party. It should include a comparison to the previous reconciliation (the one done at the voting station and the one done once the ballot box was opened).

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 number of ballots received at the opening of the voting station. This information should be duly noted on the ballot account form completed at the voting station. If it doesn't, any discrepancies should be investigated by the counting officer. Discrepancies may be a reflection of mistakes made at an earlier stage.

Once the counting process is over, the ballots are bundled and put back into the ballot box along with all relevant forms. A copy of the statement of the vote should be in a separate envelope, on the outside of the ballot box. Both the envelope and the ballot box should be sealed before being transferred to the planned location in the counting centre for the counted ballot boxes.

In the event of a recount, all these documents are needed. This explains why elaborate precautions about sealing the ballot box contents are important. For more safety, the seal could even be signed by the counting officer and the party and candidate representative. The counting officer should keep one official copy in case of loss.