Portable Structures
Where voting stations are located in areas that have no suitable permanent premises for voting, temporary structures will need to be used. Appropriate temporary structures will vary in style, according to local costs, weather conditions, and transport availability. Typically, tents or canvas or plastic sheeting shelters would be used and delivered for erection with the voting materials. However, some other solutions have proven effective when available and suitable transport can be provided. Shipping containers, for example, can make effective portable voting stations, and they have the added advantage of providing adequate security for materials if delivered on site prior to voting day.
In some environments, where there is little risk of inclement weather and where voting in the open is an accepted practice, it may be possible to dispense with any structure and have the voting station area merely delimited with ropes or similar barriers. Mobile voting stations catering to very small numbers of people at a voting location may be able to dispense with temporary structures or barriers altogether.
Light/Power
If voting station set-up, voting, or counting is to continue through hours of darkness, lighting equipment will also need to be supplied with portable structures and for any permanent structures without reliable electricity that are used for voting. For larger voting stations, the supply of generators and portable lights may be necessary. Where this is not cost-effective or feasible, gas or battery lamps can be suitable--preferably battery powered, for safety reasons. It is important that operating instructions are supplied with this equipment. While training should cover these issues, some polling officials may still be unfamiliar with, for example, safe methods of replacing gas cylinders on gas lamps.
