With UOCAVA ballots beginning to go out in some jurisdictions, primary preparation for mail balloting is likely complete. Now is the time to conduct a final review of the entire mail ballot process and to test and verify security protocols across every step.
- Data & Printing Security: Confirm the accuracy of voter and ballot style data before printing. If you use a vendor, verify their security protocols, data access limits, timelines, and ballot reconciliation procedures.
- Outbound Mail: Verify how ballots are delivered to the Postal Service and entered into their system. If a vendor transports them, confirm transport schedules, driver credentials, chain-of-custody handoffs, vehicle-tracking access, and primary USPS contacts. Make sure your office can access that information throughout the process.
- Inbound Ballots: Review incoming ballot channels—through the mail, to your office, at voting locations, or other authorized sites. Ensure standardized procedures for receiving, securing, documenting, and processing mail. Make sure undeliverable ballots are processed promptly.
- Drop Box Inspection: Test locks, security seals, lighting, and cameras, where used. Evaluate collection schedules and enforce two-person collection procedures to secure transport and documentation of every pickup. Ensure teams are trained to report suspicious activity, persons, objects, or damage.
- Internal Processing: Audit ballot intake, processing, tabulating, and storage protocols. Test cameras and other security measures, and confirm that access is limited to authorized personnel, all handoffs are documented, and numbers are verified as ballots move through the process.
- Staff & Mail Handling Safety: Train personnel to recognize suspicious mail and follow escalation procedures for potential hazardous exposure. See the resources in this issue’s Resource Library for tips on safe mail handling.
To help with this review process, create a simple checklist. Map every security step and chain-of-custody checkpoint across the ballot’s path, assign ownership for each, and fix identified gaps immediately.
Finally, prepare to clearly explain the mail balloting process and the protective measures that safeguard it. Draft basic holding statements so your office can respond quickly and consistently to questions or issues. Consider creating a plain-language “Mail Ballot Security” FAQ that explains the protections without revealing sensitive process details.
The goal isn’t to redesign the process. It’s to take one last trip along the ballot’s path, verify safeguards remain in place, and be prepared to show voters how you are protecting their ballots.
The Planning Desk is a running timeline of key election security tasks. You can find prior editions in the newsletter archive.