When ballots are sorted the counting official must distinguish valid ballots from counterfeits. Each ballot in the ballot box needs to be verified. In some jurisdictions, security paper is often used for ballots. This paper contains a watermark or other form of unique identification (special colour, lines, symbols, or logos) making the ballot virtually impossible to counterfeit. The texture, thickness, colours, size, and format of the ballot are also indicators that will differentiate a valid ballot from a counterfeit.
The counting official should know where to look on the ballot to be sure of its authenticity. If he doesn't recognise the ballot or the ballot was not issued at the polling place, it should not be included in the count and should be put aside.
To speed up the process of authenticating the ballots, certain jurisdictions require that the poll official append their initials in a provided space at the back of the ballot before handing it to the voter. If the initials at the back of the ballot are not from the poll official, then it should be set aside and not counted as a valid ballot. These initials should appear on the ballot account form, transportation form, the seals, or voting record book. If no initials are on the back of the ballot, the ballot should not be counted as valid.
This measure of appending a poll official's initial at the back of the ballot can help to identify valid ballots from counterfeit ones, but the official's initial should always be identical to protect the voter's secrecy of the vote. The poll official should always use the same colour of pen or pencil to append his initials.
In all cases, all ballots are kept, even if they are not valid. No ballots should be destroyed (at this stage of the process, see Challenging Results for more details on how long ballots should be kept) as an audit trail of all ballots considered must be assembled so that the count can be fully reconstructed.
In case of any doubt, and before taking the decision to reject a ballot as counterfeit, the counting official should be able to verify the basis of his decision with the supervisor of the counting centre and/or with the Electoral Management Body. Rejecting a ballot on the basis that it is counterfeit is an important decision and should be done without any doubt.
