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Registrar explains drop‑box chain of custody after public concerns; board keeps licensing renewals on consent calendar
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Summary
After public commenters raised chain‑of‑custody and camera‑monitoring worries about ballot drop boxes, Orange County Registrar Bob Page explained daily two‑person collections, photo verification, unique keys and election‑night lock procedures; the board approved licensing renewals after the briefing.
The Orange County Registrar of Voters told the Board of Supervisors that routine procedures for ballot drop boxes include daily two‑person collections, numbered seals and photographic verification to preserve chain of custody after public commenters questioned their security.
Bob Page, the county’s registrar of voters, explained that for the upcoming election the office will unlock drop boxes 29 days before election day (May 4), deploy two‑person collection teams to each box daily (except two Sundays), place ballots in sealed bags with a numbered tamper‑evident seal and upload multiple photos documenting the emptying and sealing steps to a field‑reporting app. ‘‘They zipper up the bag, put a numbered audible seal, like a zip tie on the zipper…and take several photos,’’ Page said, summarizing the chain‑of‑custody procedure.
Page said each box has a unique key and that on election night county staff or county employees stationed at boxes will lock each box at 8 p.m.; ballots deposited after 8 p.m. are accepted only for voters already in line. He also said teams pick up any ballots remaining the morning after election night for transport back to the registrar’s office for processing. ‘‘There’s no master key that allows somebody to open all 128 boxes that we have,’’ Page said. He told the board the county will use 128 drop‑box locations for the coming election and estimated that election‑day deposits into boxes could number ‘‘at least 100,000’’ ballots.
Public commenters had urged the board to pause or reject licensing renewals for drop‑box sites, arguing the boxes are not tracked like mailed ballots and that cameras at locations are not monitored by election officials. ‘‘Drop boxes do not allow for this to happen…there’s no real chain of custody,’’ one speaker said. Another asked why the item was on the agenda if state rules require postmarks; she asked who pays for the boxes and where camera footage is stored.
Supervisor discussion focused on whether the registrar should be present to answer those questions. After Page arrived and briefed the board, members said his description of staff procedures addressed public concerns and moved the licensing renewals forward on the consent calendar.
The board did not change state law or election rules at the meeting; it approved the licensing renewals for the sites discussed. Board members urged the registrar to continue public outreach and to post clear instructions online about how voters can track their ballots through the county’s tracking tools.
