Provision of transportation that is reliable, secure, and on time is critical in ensuring that voting stations are fully prepared for the commencement of voting and that accountable and valuable election supplies are retrieved expeditiously and safely.
Planning
Planning of transportation is a highly complex operation that needs to be completed well in advance of the election. The management resources needed to support an efficient election supplies transportation operation should not be underestimated, particularly where large geographic areas are involved and a wide range of transportation means need to be employed. Transportation plans need to be fully integrated with packaging plans and be flexible enough to respond to variations in delivery dates from suppliers.
Planning the retrieval of supplies from voting stations is as important as planning the initial supply. Ensuring that all accountable materials are returned to secure storage is an essential guarantee of election integrity. Loss of accountable materials at this stage will immediately raise public suspicions about the validity of voting and counts.
Methods
The required methods of transportation will depend on the terrain, weather conditions, time available for supply, and distances over which materials and equipment have to be transported. Whether direct distribution from a central store, or staged distribution from central to regional warehouses and then to voting stations, is used will partially depend on transportation infrastructure and distances to be covered.
It may be efficient to enlist the assistance of other state agencies in the delivery and retrieval of voting station supplies in the short time frames available. However, public trust and confidence in their use must be considered.
It may be efficient to enlist the assistance of other state agencies in the delivery and retrieval of voting station supplies in the short time frames available. However, public trust and confidence in their use must be considered
Controls
Strict controls need to be applied, particularly for accountable voting materials and valuable supplies. A full audit trail of delivery and receipt documentation for accountable materials, from the time that supplies leave the manufacturer to their return to electoral management body stores following voting day, must be available.
Records of the locations of all supplies at any time must be rigorously maintained and personal accountability for their safekeeping enforced.
