Resources > Chain of Custody

Chain of Custody

A guide to creating evidence of secure ballot management

table of contents

Chain of custody is both the process and the documentary evidence that ensure your ballots and equipment have been secure at all times. Strong chain of custody procedures and documentation help support the integrity of election outcomes and enable an election administrator to tell the story of how each election was administered successfully.

Chain-of-custody logs provide a complete account of who accessed ballots, when, and for what purpose, from pre-election through the retention period. It establishes the authenticity of ballots through each stage. In addition, chain of custody procedures apply to voting equipment to prove it could not have been tampered with.

The Elections Group created this tool to support achievement of the voluntary, nonpartisan Standards of the US Alliance for Election Excellence.

What you’ll need

Download of the Chain of Custody guide
Any staff involved in these processes (poll worker trainers, equipment prep staff, etc.)
Microsoft Word or another program for preparing or editing chain-of-custody log forms.

Getting started

Chain of custody provides essential security documentation. This guide will help you understand how to use security seals and log forms, so you can prove that essential materials have been in the secure custody of your office at all times.

The guide covers:

Security seals and their use
Log forms
Common chain of custody events
Best practices for chain of custody

Using the tool

Use this tool to improve your chain of custody practices:

Create or improve your seal logs
Compare your current procedures with a list of common chain of custody events to find gaps.
Learn about how chain of custody logs will be used and scrutinized during audits, recounts and in the event of litigation.

Customizing for your office

Any tips for customizing this resource for my office?

There are many ways to use security seals and logs to document custody and provide evidence of the integrity of an election. This guide offers recommendations, best practices and explanations so that you can choose a system that works well with your voting equipment and the laws of your state.

How do I know if this resource is helping?

You know you’ve developed excellent chain of custody procedures if staff and poll workers are able to implement them successfully and reviews or audits of the logs show few or no errors and omissions.

Which Standards of Excellence does this resource support?

Ballots and Audits
Poll Workers

Which Values of Excellence does this resource support? Why?

Values for the U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence define our shared vision for the way election departments across the country can aspire to excellence. These values help us navigate the challenges of delivering successful elections and maintaining our healthy democracy.

Alliance values are nonpartisan and designed by local election officials, designers, technologists and other experts to support local election departments.

You may find this tool especially helpful for this Value:

High integrity. Documented chain of custody helps prove the integrity of the election, and knowing that secure custody is a priority deters misconduct.
Proactive transparency. Chain of custody provides documentary evidence that can be reviewed, showing that the ballots were secure.

To learn more about the Values for Election Excellence, and to see the full list, visit the Alliance website.

Sharing feedback

How was this resource developed?

This resource has been put into practice by at least one jurisdiction. Share your experience with this resource and improve it for your peers by reaching out to support@ElectionExcellence.org.

How do I stay in touch?

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Have a specific idea, piece of feedback, or question? Send an email to support@ElectionExcellence.org