Categorisation of Material
Following the return of material after voting day and the completion of counts, electoral management body staff will need to sort and categorise the returned material into the following categories:
- materials that may be immediately destroyed;
- reusable materials and equipment, either to be placed in storage until the next election or to be used in the course of normal business;
- material to be maintained under strict security.
It would be usual for the electoral legislation to define election materials that must be maintained in strictly secure storage as well as the period for which they must be kept. There will be additional materials--such as polling officials payment records and other financial, purchasing, or recruitment documentation--that may also have to be maintained securely for audit purposes.
Accountable Materials
Accountable voting materials should always be maintained under strict security until the period for challenge to election results has elapsed. These would include:
- ballot papers, both used and unused;
- accountable ballot envelopes, both used and unused;
- applications for votes;
- voting day registrations;
- declarations of eligibility made by voters, for normal or special voting facilities;
- voters lists;
- materials supply records;
- ballot accounting and reconciliation records;
- voting station managers' and count centre managers' reports on proceedings;
- challenge and complaint records from voting stations and ballot counting centres;
- documentation of ballot count totals and results as well as decisions on validity of ballots.
In election systems where retiring, dismissed, or deceased representatives are replaced by means of a recount of ballots from the last election, used ballot materials will need to be maintained under security for the term of the elected representative body.
Access to this material may be necessary for voter follow-up investigations, (see Voter Follow-Up), for research purposes, or in relation to challenges. For equity reasons, persons formally challenging aspects of the election would be allowed to view relevant accountable materials in the presence of election officials. But they must not be allowed to remove material for their own investigations, or alter or tamper with it in any way.
All access to sealed packs of accountable materials must be strictly controlled, with each access recorded, and packages promptly resealed. Unsealing and resealing should be endorsed on the packages, and, if new plastic tie seals are attached, a record maintained of their numbers. Maintaining a register of access to these sealed packages is useful--with the 'who,' 'when,' and 'why' of each sealing and resealing. Any material extracted from sealed packages must be held securely while being used for investigations. Packages of accountable materials should not be left unsealed if opened.
Asset Management
Election materials and equipment represents a considerable investment. Accountability for election equipment and materials needs to be reinforced through imposition of thorough audit trails tracking to whom equipment has been assigned and asset control measures such as regular inventories. An asset management plan should be developed for reuseable equipment and materials, either for them to be put back into storage until the next election or to be made available for intermediate use by the electoral management body or other agencies.
Disposal Schedules
Destruction of used election-related materials should be strictly in accordance with approved disposal schedules. Some retainment periods may be specified in electoral or other legislation. Comprehensive disposal schedules for all election materials should be developed by the electoral management body, if materials retainment periods are not subject to detailed public sector-wide direction. There must be defined accountabilities for materials destruction, and use of secure destruction methods for accountable voting materials or materials containing personal information on voters or polling staff.
In addition to requirements for retainment of material for potential challenges, recounts, and audit purposes, disposal or destruction schedules for election materials should take into account issues such as:
- keeping examples of materials for the historical record and future reference;
- the time required for research and evaluation of election procedures and programs.
Illegitimate ballots, for example, can be a fruitful source for information on the efficacy of current voter registration methods and future information campaign emphases.
