First preferences are summable and it is usually clear, on the night of the election, who has won the majority in Parliament. This is called the "indicative cou

First preferences are summable and it is usually clear, on the night of the election, who has won the majority in Parliament. This is called the "indicative count". As for chain of custody, again, Australia has solved this problem. Every box is numbered, every seal on the box is numbered. All of them are signed out by electoral officials, witnessed by at least two scrutineers from different candidates. When the boxes are opened this process is repeated. Do you know how many times ballot boxes have gone missing in an Australian election? Once. In a century. Once. For which the High Court voided the election because there was a minute but non-zero chance that the outcome would've been affected. It was re-run from scratch.