FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: press@verifiedvoting.org
PHILADELPHIA (September 24, 2026) — As the fall midterms draw closer and scrutiny of election offices intensifies nationwide, the safeguarding of ballots is taking on renewed importance as a critical safeguard for protecting ballots and maintaining public confidence. Leading this effort to equip election offices with the tools they need ahead of and following November, Verified Voting, Advance Elections, and the Election Law Program recently convened a briefing on their new report, The Election Chain of Custody Blueprint: A Review of the Law, Best Practices, and Messaging Tools.
The briefing featured Verified Voting President and CEO Pamela Smith, Verified Voting Communications Director Corrie Emerson, Advance Elections Principal and Co-Founder Chris Piper, and Election Law Program Senior Director James Alcorn, who discussed why strong chain-of-custody practices are a critical part of safeguarding votes and maintaining public confidence in election administration.
Throughout the briefing, speakers emphasized that strong chain-of-custody practices do more than protect ballots, they provide the transparency, evidence, and accountability needed to demonstrate how elections are conducted and to strengthen public trust in the process.
“The great Neal Kelley, who’s formerly the Registrar of Voters for Orange County, California… said ‘the answer in 2026 is transparency, rigorous audits, and evidence,’” said Verified Voting President and CEO Pamela Smith. “‘We don’t need less scrutiny. We need better scrutiny. We don’t need unquestioning trust. We need evidence based trust.’ And this blueprint is designed to help preserve the evidence that trust requires and to ensure greater transparency.”
“When people see how they [election officials] are protecting these votes day in and day out, utilizing these chain of custody standards and principals, the public will become a lot more trustworthy of the elections themselves,” said Advance Elections Principal and Co-Founder Chris Piper. “When I talk to folks who are distrusting in our elections process, it comes from a lack of understanding of how it works. Once they’re exposed to how the process works, they become a lot more trusting of it.”
“All states are trying to address the same goals… how do we make sure the election material is secure and accountable?” said Election Law Program Senior Director James Alcorn.
The report provides election officials and other stakeholders with practical tools, including:
- A state-by-state legal landscape of chain-of-custody practices, including case law addressing what happens when chain-of-custody procedures break down.
- A five-standard best-practices framework with a good/better/best roadmap designed to help offices strengthen their practices regardless of available resources.
- A ready-made communications strategy, including crisis-response guidance and voter-ready language to help election officials communicate clearly about chain of custody.
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