Once your election materials have been produced, you need to ensure that all materials have been printed, collated and prepared for dispatch to electors or for use at polling stations without errors.
Quality assurance checks should be conducted as soon as possible to prevent any delays to issue and dispatch.
Checking filled postal vote packs before dispatch
Quality assurance checks of filled postal ballot packs should include that:
ballot paper and PVS number(s) align
personalised name/address information appears as expected in windows
each pack contains the correct items (e.g. that the correct ballot papers and reply envelope are included)
You should carry out random spot checks across all packs to ensure a representative cross-section of at least two packs from each batch of 250 packs has been checked, roughly the equivalent of a full Royal Mail postal tray.
There should be specific checks of any fills that include additional items (e.g. where a by-election means an additional ballot paper is included).
You should keep a clear audit trail of the proofing and quality assurance processes undertaken either by your staff or by your supplier which you can refer back to should any issues subsequently arise.