Election officials spend a lot of time behind desks, in meetings, and focused on spreadsheets. Daily routines and workplace familiarity can prevent staff from noticing security gaps that someone looking for vulnerabilities might spot immediately. It is surprisingly easy to stop seeing the things we encounter every day.
Election offices invest significant time and resources in securing elections. One simple and effective way to strengthen that effort is to take a walk. A deliberate walk-through of administrative facilities is an opportunity to look at familiar spaces from a fresh perspective.
Actions You Can Take
- Get some sunshine. Walk the parking lot, loading areas, public entrances, and ballot drop-off locations. Look at the facility the way a first-time visitor would. Are there poorly lit areas? Could someone accidentally enter a restricted space? Are cameras positioned where they need to be? Many vulnerabilities are not sophisticated but often the result of routine conditions that have gone unnoticed over time.
- Follow the ballot. Trace the path of a ballot from receipt through sorting, processing, tabulation, and storage. At each step, ask: Who has access? How is access controlled? What documentation exists? Identify any part of the path that is blind to camera coverage, and prepare to explain and demonstrate security to observers, stakeholders, and the public.
- Notice the little things. Look for the small operational issues that have become habit: a door propped open during busy periods, supplies blocking a camera, an inconsistent visitor sign-in process, or equipment stored where it creates unnecessary access concerns. Individually, these may seem minor. Collectively, they can create vulnerabilities or undermine public confidence.
- Bring a team. Enlist staff from different areas of the office or other departments to walk with you. Facility reviews are more effective when conducted with people who work in different parts of the operation, as they often notice things others tend to miss.
- Think beyond today. Consider how the facility would function during a disruption. What happens if power is lost, a room becomes inaccessible, or a key staff member is unavailable? The goal is to identify obvious gaps while there is still time to address them.
- Document and prioritize. Record any physical or operational concerns, and prioritize improvements you can complete before your next election.
Additional Resources
The Security Assessment Checklist from the Committee for Safe and Secure Elections (CSSE) walks through perimeter security, building access, surveillance, ballot security, visitor management, mail handling, and continuity planning.
CISA’s Physical Security Checklist for Election Offices assists in a self-assessment of facility security, access controls, surveillance, incident response, suspicious mail procedures, and continuity planning.
The Planning Desk is a running timeline of key election security tasks. You can find prior editions in the newsletter archive.