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Registrar details chain‑of‑custody for 128 Orange County ballot drop boxes after public concern
Summary
After public commenters raised chain‑of‑custody and camera concerns about ballot drop boxes, Registrar Bob Page explained daily two‑person pickups, photo documentation, numbered seals and staffed election‑night monitoring for the county''s 128 drop boxes; the board approved licensing renewals for 30 locations.
Chair Chaffee and the Board of Supervisors paused action on a licensing package for ballot drop boxes after members of the public questioned whether the county could verify and track ballots deposited in unattended boxes.
Two public speakers urged the board to remove drop boxes from the list or postpone approval, saying drop boxes do not provide the postmark or chain‑of‑custody protections in an executive order and that cameras at those 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 during public comment.
When Registrar of Voters Bob Page arrived, he told the board the county operates 128 drop boxes for the upcoming election and brought specifics to address the concerns. “We unlock all the drop boxes 29 days before Election Day…and we send two‑person teams to every drop box daily,” Page said, describing procedures that include verifying ballot bags, zipper‑sealing bags, applying numbered tamper seals, and photographing the box empty and sealed. Field workers transmit photographs to a three‑person office review team that clears each pickup, he said.
Page also said the county staffs each drop box on Election Day with two‑to‑three county employees to assist voters and ensure boxes are locked at 8 p.m. “At 8 p.m. on election night, they are making sure that the box they’re assigned to is locked so that no more additional ballots can be put into those boxes,” he said, adding that the day‑after morning pickup retrieves any late deposits and that the executive order cited by speakers does not create new law binding county practice.
Board members pressed for additional details about how long ballots may remain out of the initial night’s results; Page estimated that drop‑box deposits can total “at least a 100,000 ballots” on Election Day in Orange County and explained state timelines for canvass and certification.
After the Registrar's presentation and follow‑up questions from supervisors, the board returned the licensing agreements to the consent calendar and approved the package for the 30 locations that had been pulled for discussion. Supervisors also asked staff to continue public outreach and make tracking information available to voters through ocvote.com.
The board did not change policy on drop boxes at this meeting; the Registrar's operational description was provided as the basis for approving the licensing agreements.
