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EAC offers step-by-step guidance to strengthen physical security across the election cycle
Summary
The Election Assistance Commission’s Part 2 training walks election officials through a five-step framework — from risk assessment to chain-of-custody documentation — and offers practical steps such as on-site walk-throughs, two-person ballot handling, and simple in-house forms.
The Election Assistance Commission released Part 2 of its physical security review series, presenting a five-step approach election officials can use to assess and strengthen physical security across voting locations, drop boxes, equipment storage and post-election processes.
The training’s core recommendation is a formal risk assessment. The presenter advised officials to list the spaces, systems and processes specific to their election cycle — for example, voting locations, drop boxes, staging areas, voting equipment, ballot printers and poll books — then identify and score risks by likelihood and potential impact so mitigation can start with high-priority items.
“Create a list of the physical spaces, systems, and processes specific to the election cycle,” the Presenter said, recommending that officials mark items as high, medium or low risk and “try to mitigate as many of the risks identified as possible, starting with those that are marked as high priority.”
The training emphasized practical, on-the-ground checks before voting begins: conduct thorough on-site walk-throughs at all voting locations and drop-box sites to look for vulnerabilities such as blind spots, poor lighting and unsecured entrances. For drop boxes, the Presenter said, make sure boxes are firmly secured and that locks, access doors and other components are working properly.
Access controls and inventory procedures were highlighted as essential controls. The Presenter urged that only authorized personnel be allowed into sensitive areas, that staff and poll workers use credentials, and that clear signage mark restricted areas. On storage, officials were told to keep records of who has keys or access cards, lock up equipment when not in use, and use consistent inventory practices; the Presenter pointed attendees to the EAC’s voting equipment storage and inventory training for more detail.
Maintaining chain-of-custody records was presented as critical to reconstructing movements of ballots and equipment. The training set out specific logging expectations: document date and time, the names of everyone involved in a transfer, and the purpose of the movement. For drop-box collections, the Presenter recommended teams of two collect ballots on route, log each collection, and seal containers with tamper-evident seals.
The Presenter also recommended post-election steps: hold a debrief to discuss problems, mistakes or vulnerabilities and assign impartial reviewers — staff who were not directly involved in the processed work — to verify results and investigate discrepancies. As an example, the Presenter said oversight should investigate if 2,000 ballots were logged as received but only 1,993 were counted before finalizing results.
The session closed by summarizing the five steps — risk identification, securing locations and equipment, updating procedures, ensuring chain of custody, and upholding impartial oversight — and thanking participants for their work in elections. The Presenter also pointed attendees to the EAC’s chain-of-custody 101 training video for additional guidance.
The training is instructional guidance for election officials; it does not change state election laws or substitute for jurisdiction-specific legal requirements. Officials were advised to ensure local procedures comply with state and local election statutes and policies and to use the EAC resources as implementation references.
