State representative candidate Bill Bowles is calling on the city to improve its security provisions for ballots after learning the ballots are left overnight at polling places following an election.

Bowles said the ballots should be under the control of the election commission after a vote, and the ballots should be placed in a safe overnight.

He said he has no reason to believe there was a problem with the ballots after his Democratic primary race for state representative, but said more security is needed.

"I think the process is woefully inadequate," he said.

He said someone could potentially break into a polling place at night to gain access to the ballots. Election commission Chairwoman Joan Pilkington-Smith said all election procedures are reviewed after each election, and the commission is open to reconsideration of its security methods.

She said the ballots are kept in locked boxes at the voting sites and there is a seal that would be broken if someone tried to tamper with them.