An old-fashioned way of keeping counted paper ballots secure by threading them onto a string with a needle.
A seemingly antique procedure for counting paper in which the ballots are literally BALLOTS placed on a string by being pierced by a needle and threaded for security. "The board in the actual procedure of counting the ballots shall thereupon unlock and open the BOX; the BALLOT ballots shall then be taken singly and separately therefrom by the judge of the election, and while each ballot shall remain in his hands, he shall audibly and publicly read the same in full view of the INSPECTOR. The inspector shall be satisfied that the ballot is being correctly read by the JUDGE. After the reading of the ballot, including a ballot determined to be void, and before taking another ballot from the box, the judge shall fold the ballot to a size about five inches square, and shall deliver the same so folded to the inspector, who shall write on the back thereof the number of such ballot from one onward, in the order in which the same shall have been taken from the box; and shall string the ballot as one ticket in the order in which the same shall be taken from the box and numbered, by means of a needle and string to be provided for that purpose." N.J.Stat.Ann. §19:16-7. While the procedure may seem old, the statutory clause was amended as recently as 1992. Similarly in Oregon Stat. §545.145.
Example
After hand-counting each ballot, workers pierced the stack with a needle and threaded the ballots onto a string so the counted pile could not be tampered with.
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A seemingly antique procedure for counting paper in which the ballots are literally BALLOTS placed on a string by being pierced by a needle and threaded for security. "The board in the actual procedure of counting the ballots shall thereupon unlock and open the BOX; the BALLOT ballots shall then be taken singly and separately therefrom by the judge of the election, and while each ballot shall remain in his hands, he shall audibly and publicly read the same in full view of the INSPECTOR. The inspector shall be satisfied that the ballot is being correctly read by the JUDGE. After the reading of the ballot, including a ballot determined to be void, and before taking another ballot from the box, the judge shall fold the ballot to a size about five inches square, and shall deliver the same so folded to the inspector, who shall write on the back thereof the number of such ballot from one onward, in the order in which the same shall have been taken from the box; and shall string the ballot as one ticket in the order in which the same shall be taken from the box and numbered, by means of a needle and string to be provided for that purpose." N.J.Stat.Ann. §19:16-7. While the procedure may seem old, the statutory clause was amended as recently as 1992. Similarly in Oregon Stat. §545.145.
Cite this term
Election Security Glossary. (2026). Stringing. In Election Security Glossary. Retrieved September 15, 2026, from https://electionsecurityglossary.com/glossary/stringing
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