Receipt and management of ballot papers and election material at the verification
You should have a team of trained staff responsible for registering receipt of every ballot box, the postal votes and the other materials that have been delivered from polling stations.
You should organise the packets and parcels from polling stations in such a way as to enable easy location of any packet.
The sacks containing the documents that need to be stored, such as sealed corresponding number lists, should be separated from those containing items that will be reused, such as general stationery items.
You can then release the various materials received back from polling stations to the receiving staff to the relevant teams, to enable the verification of the unused ballot papers and the opening of postal votes to commence. These processes can run simultaneously to the verification of used votes.
The following table summarises the action you should take for each type of sealed packed received:
Sealed packets received
Action to take
Ballot paper accounts
Take the ballot paper accounts to staff dealing with the ballot box verification process to enter onto the verification statement
Keep them sealed and placed in a designated and secure area for the duration of the verification and count.
Postal ballots handed it at the polling station or to the Returning Officer
You will need to undertake the final opening of postal votes handed in at polling stations and council offices.
You may do this either at the verification venue or at some other premises. In either case, you need to have a mechanism to record the number of postal votes received.