Reply #36: ya can't take 'em with you

[iverglas]

Our ballot boxes are just cardboard with a slot in the lid, sealed up before voting starts and not unsealed until the doors are locked and the last voter gone. The candidates' representatives inspect them to make sure they are empty before the vote starts so there's no prior stuffing, and after all the votes are counted to make sure none were missed.

The Deputy Returning Officer and poll clerk for each poll (our poll had 200 people actually vote) put the ballots for each candidate (and the leftover ballots, spoiled ballots and rejected ballots) in separate envelopes, which are sealed with a sticky label and signed by them and by the candidates' scrutineers who have observed the count.

The DRO then gives a signed official statement of the count, broken down by candidate, to the scrutineers, so the candidates have that official info no matter what happens to the ballots. The DRO takes the sealed yellow plastic envelope containing the packages of ballots and various documents directly and immediately to the central Elections Canada office for the constituency. The candidates can also have representatives at that office during election day.

Btw, this process is absolutely uniform for the whole country. It's a federal election, so there are federal rules, and the election is run by a federal agency.

Really -- it's easy!