34-1013. EARLY VOTING BALLOT SECURITY. (1) A detailed plan for the security of ballots for early voting shall be submitted to the secretary of state for approval no later than thirty (30) days before early voting begins the third Friday of January or at least thirty (30) days prior to implementing an early voting plan. Once an early voting plan has been approved by the secretary of state, the plan shall be approved for the entire election year, unless it is modified. Any modified plan shall be submitted to the secretary of state for approval. Once a plan is approved, the county clerk shall notify the secretary of state of the county's intent to use the early voting process prior to each election and before early voting begins .

(2) At a minimum, the following procedures must be followed:

(1 a ) The ballot boxes used for casting early ballots shall remain locked and secured with a numbered seal until the time of tabulation on election day. ;

(2 b ) A record shall be maintained consisting of the number of ballots issued by date and seal number of each ballot box used for early voting. ;

(3 c ) Arrangements shall be made to have a deputy sheriff, police officer or bonded private security firm secure the location. ; and

(4 d ) The actual counting of ballots shall not begin until election day, and the results shall not be released to the public until all voting places in the state have closed.