Missouri Revised Statutes Title IX. Suffrage and Elections § 115.465. Procedure for returning voted ballots (paper ballots)

1. If the election authority directs the voted ballots to be returned in a ballot box, the box shall be locked and the key removed. Each election judge shall write his name on a strip of paper which shall be pasted over the keyhole of the ballot box and extended over the upper lid of the box and over the top for some distance. The strip shall be pasted in such a manner that the signatures extend across the keyhole and place of opening so that if the box is opened or the key inserted in the keyhole, the paper will be torn and the signatures destroyed. The paper shall be fastened with an adhesive material which will not permit removal of the strip without defacing it.

2. If the election authority directs the voted ballots to be returned in an envelope or other container, the container shall be sealed. Each election judge shall write his name on a strip of paper which shall be pasted over the opening of the container. The strip shall be pasted in such a manner that the signatures extend across the place of opening so that if the container is opened, the paper will be torn and the signatures destroyed. The paper shall be fastened with an adhesive material which will not permit removal of the strip without defacing it.

3. On the outside of the ballot box or other container in which the ballots are returned, the location of the polling place and the date of the election shall be printed.