Ballots are already being processed ahead of next week’s election at the Orange County Registrar of Voters in Santa Ana.
Photo credit Leslie Capron
With less than a week until Election Day, ballots are already moving through a sprawling Santa Ana facility known as the Orange County Registrar of Voters. Here workers verify signatures, open envelopes and scan ballots ahead of November 3.
On Wednesday, October 28, Registrar of Voters Bob Page took reporters behind the scenes to explain the security measures that follow each ballot to the final election tally.
Election security safeguards begin long before ballots reach the Santa Ana facility. Two-person teams collect ballots from the county's secure drop boxes, including the eleven drop boxes available in Irvine. The teams must document their work with photographs, verify numbered security seals and track each collection.
Registrar of Voters Bob Page demonstrated how ballot drop boxes are secured. Collection teams photograph the closed doors and numbered security seals after retrieving ballots.
Photo credit Leslie Capron
"We give them a different route every day,” said Page of the two-person ballot collection teams. “We don't want them going to the same order of boxes every day, for their safety, as well as the safety of the ballots."
In addition to changing their daily routes, the teams’ locations are also closely monitored by GPS. When ballots arrive at the Registrar's Santa Ana headquarters, staff verify the seals that identifying the drop boxes where each batch of ballots originated. Page explained that these procedures are designed to ensure ballots haven't been accessed or tampered with during the trip.
After ballots arrive, voter signatures must be verified. Page explained that a common cause for signature mismatch is the result of a simple mixup between family members.
"Sometimes we will find in households with more than one voter, that they will switch their envelopes," said Page.
If a husband and wife accidentally sign each other's envelopes, the signatures both fail verification. The ballots are initially challenged, but workers can investigate and accept both once they sort out what happened.
In this election, signature verification will be handled a little differently. For the first time, Orange County is using automated signature verification software to help process vote-by-mail ballots.
The technology compares signatures on returned ballot envelopes with signatures in voter registration records. About 30% of signatures are currently accepted automatically via the new software, Page said. The remaining signatures are reviewed by election workers.
"We don't use software to reject a ballot," Page emphasized.
For a signature to be challenged, three election officials must agree that it differs significantly from signatures on file. Voters whose signatures are challenged receive a notice by mail and are given an opportunity to correct the issue.
Page said the county tested the technology using signatures from the June primary and are continuing to audit the results. So far, those audits have found no instances in which the software accepted a signature that election workers would have rejected.
Once signatures are verified, the envelopes move to another processing station, where workers place them on lighted tables to make sure the ballots inside won't be damaged when machines slice them open. Page said the safeguard was introduced after workers discovered that some voters had refolded their 17-inch ballots in ways that put them at risk of being cut.
Election workers use illuminated tables to check the position of ballots inside their envelopes in order to avoid damaging them when cutting
Photo credit Leslie Capron
After ballots are extracted, prepared and scanned, their electronic records eventually reach a highly restricted tally room. Only about half a dozen employees have access to the room, which requires both a security card and a code to enter.
Page said the county's ballot printers, scanners, ballot-marking devices and tabulation servers are not connected to the internet. Electronic voter rosters are an exception, allowing officials to track participation across Vote Centers and prevent double voting.
Ballot data is transferred to the tally room using portable storage devices. Results from Vote Centers are transported through a pneumatic tube system after being logged and secured.
The county plans to release its first election results at approximately 8:05 p.m. on Nov. 3. Page said at least 90% of ballots received by the day before Election Day are expected to be included in that initial report. He stressed the importance of early voting to expedite ballot processing.
"Your vote is counted first if you vote early," Page told reporters.
After the facility tour, California Office of Emergency Services Director Caroline Thomas Jacobs and Orange County Intelligence Assessment Center Deputy Director Alberto Martinez described how their agencies coordinate with election officials.
Jacobs said the state works with local and federal partners to identify security threats, share intelligence and coordinate emergency responses. She emphasized the importance of fighting mis- and disinformation online.
“We encourage Californians to pause, verify, and think before sharing election-related information," said Jacobs.
Martinez said the Sheriff's Department works with the Registrar to protect election facilities, respond to threats and train law enforcement officers on election laws. He identified potential threats the county faces in the upcoming election from foreign actors, extremist groups, individuals acting alone and cybercriminals. Page said a Sheriff's Department sergeant will be embedded in the Registrar's election command center to coordinate responses to disturbances at voting locations.
Orange County Registrar of Voters Bob Page urged voters to help protect election security by reporting suspicious activity and to speed up election results by voting early. His message to voters: Don't wait until Election Day.
Photo credit Leslie Capron
Page said voters also have a role to play in keeping the election secure. Anyone who witnesses suspicious activity or problems at a Vote Center should report it directly to the Registrar's office at 888-OC-VOTES.
"If people see something, we want them to say something," Page said. "The sooner we know about situations, the quicker we can actually address it."
And for voters who want to help speed up election results, Page had another request.
"The biggest way voters can help us with that is to vote early, get the ballots in so that we can actually have their votes counted on election night."
39 Orange County Vote Centers are currently open, with another 152 scheduled to open Saturday, Oct. 31. Voters can cast ballots at any Vote Center in the county, return completed ballots at official drop boxes or vote by mail. Page urged residents to vote early, both to avoid Election Day lines and to help election officials deliver faster results. Additional voting information and Vote Center locations are available at ocvote.gov.