Pennsylvania counties are taking various measures to secure ballots as they are transported from polling places to county facilities after polls close on Election Day. Each county has its own protocols, such as poll workers in Berks County transporting ballots in sealed boxes back to the county elections office, where they are locked in a secure room. In Philadelphia, local law enforcement, specifically police officers, collect the ballots from polling places and transport them back to headquarters in large canvas bags.
In Allegheny County, poll workers transport ballots in locked, sealed bags to regional reporting centers after polls close. From there, county police escort the ballots to a warehouse where they are stored in locked cages under 24-hour surveillance. Chain of custody paperwork is also used to document the transfer of ballots as they are moved from polling places to secure county facilities. In Allegheny County, chain of custody forms verify the number of used and unused ballots being returned to county officials, as well as checking the seals on the bags used to transport the ballots.
Counties that use ballot drop boxes for mail and absentee ballots also have security procedures in place. In Berks County, sheriff’s deputies monitor the drop boxes and unlock them along with county elections officials to empty the ballots. The ballots are then counted, recorded on a custody sheet, placed in a sealed box, and transported back to the processing center. Similarly, Philadelphia has 34 ballot drop boxes that are emptied daily and multiple times on Election Day by election workers, with ballots being transported in sealed bags and workers signing chain of custody forms.
The transportation of ballots in Pennsylvania is done in a secure and controlled manner to ensure the integrity of the ballot collection process. These security measures are aimed at maintaining the trust and confidence of the public in the election process. Overall, the state has various protocols in place to secure ballots throughout the transportation process, including police escorts, sealed containers, chain of custody documentation, and monitoring of ballot drop boxes by law enforcement officials.
This story is part of an explanatory series focused on Pennsylvania elections conducted collaboratively by WITF in Harrisburg and The Associated Press. The AP receives support from private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. The public can have confidence in the security measures taken for the transportation of ballots in Pennsylvania, ensuring the integrity of the election process.
