August 19, 2024
Election Resource Roundup: Ballot Processing and Chain of Custody (Week 10)
In preparation for the 2024 Presidential Election, The Elections Group is teaming up with experts in the industry to highlight resources for election administrators. This weekly series will showcase resources from The Elections Group, paired with resources from other organizations in the elections space. Every four weeks, we will focus on a different topic, and we’ll take a deeper dive into the resources available each week. Whether you’re a seasoned elections administrator looking for resources in the field, or if you’re new to the role, these maximum 30-minute sessions will be a quick introduction to resources curated for you.
The August 19 Resource Roundup features The Election Group’s Ballot Drop Box Implementation and Ballot Drop Box Retrieval Process guides and The EAC’s Chain of Custody Best practices.
TEG’s Ballot Drop Box Implementation guide walks election officials through the process of establishing ballot drop boxes in their jurisdiction. Ballot drop boxes offer a secure, convenient alternative for voters to cast their completed mail ballots. They save money for voters in jurisdictions where return postage is not prepaid, and they can reduce costs for election authorities where postage is paid.
Our Ballot Drop Box Retrieval Process is a quick chat with Jennifer Morrell created through a partnership with the Stanford D. School, the Stanford-MIT Healthy Elections Project, the Center for Tech and Civic Life, and the Prototyping Systems Lab. Jennifer discusses what happens when teams retrieve ballots from a ballot box during an election season. The video emphasizes strict chain of custody, which is a critical component of the ballot retrieval process.
The EAC’s Chain of Custody Best Practice Guide outlines items election officials should consider when developing or revising their chain of custody procedures for physical election materials, voting systems, and the use of third-party auditors for conducting audits and electronic discovery.