Physical security measures are essential for protecting election transparency and maintaining public trust.
In today’s climate, election integrity is top of mind for many across the political spectrum. It seems that with every round at the polls, new concerns and allegations arise around transparency; this problem can be detrimental to a community and nation’s trust in its own democratic processes.
Physical security plays a critical role in preserving election transparency. Solutions such as surveillance systems, trained personnel, access control, and alarm technology can protect election officials, polling locations, equipment, ballots, and more from tampering, vandalism, and other illegal activity.
When physical security is made a priority during election season, voting processes can be executed fairly and accurately, and the public’s trust in the electoral process can remain intact.
What is a transparent election? This term refers to electoral processes that are open to viewing and scrutiny by all parties involved, including candidates, officials, voters, media outlets, and others. Election integrity protection is a multi-faceted endeavor that includes auditing procedures, access to and monitoring of polling places, and more.
Too many recent elections have faced allegations of dishonest behavior, including ballot tampering and other inappropriate and illegal actions. This phenomenon has led to increasing unease around democratic processes from government officials, political candidates, and especially from voters.
When an election—on any level of politics and in any government sphere—remains open to examination by its stakeholders, democratic processes are upheld, better trusted, and more beneficial to all. Candidates and voters alike can be confident in their outcomes, and encouraged to participate further in the future.
Physical security—or the protection of assets, individuals, and facilities from physical damage or danger—is a key focus of the security industry. Effective physical security measures prevent the loss, theft, and damage of anything that falls within its scope, from digital information to hardware to employees.
Physical security can refer to alarms, access control, camera surveillance, lighting, perimeter security, and more. The exact pieces of your physical security regimen will depend on the needs of each process and facility. Each is an important facet of physical security, and all should be integrated to ensure complete security coverage.
Maintaining the physical security of an election is paramount in ensuring and preserving its integrity. Most commonly, threats to an election’s efficacy and security come in the following forms:
To ensure physical security at polling stations and beyond, officials can monitor and secure facilities, ballots, and voting machines, and enlist local law enforcement and additional personnel to protect against nefarious actors.
Physical security efforts centering on election equipment, facilities, and processes support election transparency by maintaining secure and fair voting access, ensuring the safety and welfare of officials and volunteers, and preventing fraud, tampering, and other criminal activity.
When physical security threats are mitigated, other broader threats—including misinformation campaigns and bureaucratic gridlock—can be mitigated and even prevented. The implications of election security go far beyond the cameras around polling stations and the monitoring of ballot transportation.
When securing an election, it’s important to first assess your processes and/or area’s unique needs. Check for gaps in monitoring and security safeguards, and consider past issues faced by elections in your area and beyond.
After determining any challenges specific to your situation, go through the following steps to protect against common threats to election security and transparency.
First, train any election officials, volunteers, and employees on all safety protocols. Educate on and empower each team member to uphold election security standards. Create a culture of transparency across the board.
Second, ensure all transportation and storage of equipment and materials, such as ballots, are secured and monitored at every point in the process. Even seemingly trivial assets can be vital to election integrity and should be protected with the utmost vigilance.
Third, implement access control software and protocols at election locations, such as polling places and offices. Establish and check for security clearances for all involved personnel, and establish special protocols for higher-security areas.
Fourth, continuously monitor activity at election locations with video surveillance. Modern, sophisticated surveillance systems—such as those created and sold by LiveView Technologies (LVT)—are equipped with a vast array of security features, including AI-assisted motion detection and identification, loudspeakers, continuous monitoring, and more.
Fifth, involve the public—especially relevant constituents—in security efforts. When voters are clued into your efforts for election security and transparency, their trust in your election will increase and your efforts will be magnified.
Sixth and finally, foster collaboration between your electoral organization and others, such as government entities, community institutions, and businesses and individuals in the private sector. The better integrated your election is with trusted local figures and institutions, the better your electoral process will come off to voters and other stakeholders.
While your own community’s needs may differ to some degree, each of these steps is sure to enhance the integrity of any electoral process.
A well-rounded physical security plan should integrate innovative technology with traditional measures so that no threat is left undetected. LVT specializes in fully integrative surveillance technology; able to be connected with alarm and access control systems, complete with an easy-to-use customer interface, and featuring some of today’s most advanced surveillance features, LVT Units® are a comprehensive and versatile solution to your election’s security challenges.
LiveView Technologies cares about the security of your and all elections. Transparency in electoral processes is key to maintaining democracy and public trust, and physical security plays a key role in achieving this goal. All election stakeholders should support, demand, and play an active role in protecting election integrity.
Partner with LVT to ensure the physical security of your electoral process and further enhance your community’s outlook on your democracy as a whole. We’ll ensure you receive top-of-the-line products and excellent service, so there are no gaps in your election security protocols.
.jpg)
