Guidance for Returning Officers administering a Scottish Parliament election

You should take all necessary steps to ensure the security of ballot papers and relevant stationery from the close of poll through to the declaration of the results, particularly where ballot papers need to be transported from the verification to the count or where a break in proceedings means the ballot papers need to be stored between the conclusion of the verification and the commencement of the count.1

If you need to store ballot papers, you must store them in sealed ballot boxes in a secure place, allowing agents to attach their seals to the ballot boxes.2 You should always open the sealed ballot boxes in clear view of any candidates and agents present, so they can satisfy themselves that nobody has interfered with the ballot papers and the ballot boxes.

You should make arrangements for how the ballot papers and other materials will be kept secure once they arrive at the verification and count venue(s), for example, by ensuring they are never left unattended.

These plans should also include the security of those materials that you must keep sealed (such as the corresponding numbers list), either by staff watching the materials or by securing them in a locked room.

You can liaise with your local police Single Point of Contact (SPOC) when deciding on the most appropriate method for ensuring secure storage and you should also brief candidates and agents about your arrangements, so that they can have confidence in the integrity of the count.

You will also need to ensure any personal data is destroyed at the appropriate time, in accordance with your document retention policy.