SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY, Calif. — The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors approved a proposal Tuesday to replace current vote-by-mail drop boxes across the county with new ones equipped with enhanced security features in effort to prevent fraud in upcoming elections.
During a Sept. 12 meeting, the board, in a majority vote, adopted a transfer of $194,514 in funding allocated for the Registrar of Voters (ROV) to replace the county's 25 vote-by-mail boxes with new, secure 'Vote Armor' ballot boxes from Laserfab, Inc..
"We wanted to make sure that we were tightening up security and creating a little more assurance for those concerned citizens that we have but also still providing access for the voters that have expressed interest," said San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters Olivia Hale.
Hale said this effort was prompted by community concerns and increased use of the vote-by-mail boxes. She said nearly 50,000 voters used ballot drop boxes during the 2022 general election.
The new boxes will include enhanced security features, including fortified locking mechanisms, individual keys and tamper seals.
"They are 1,200 pounds and they are made of steel. They can be bolted to the ground wherever we designate to place them. They have locking mechanisms and individual keying for each and every drop box, so it's not like one key will open all 25 boxes."
Hale said ballot collectors will also be filmed using iPads during the ballot pickup process as well.
The boxes will be bolted to the ground in strategic permanent locations throughout the county with cameras already placed outside of buildings, according to Registrar of Voters Olivia Hale's presentation to the board. Boxes will be sealed during non-election years.
More than a dozen California counties use the Vote Armor ballot boxes, including Sacramento, Solano, Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Yolo counties, according to Laserfab, Inc.
The vote to approve the transfer of funding came with some opposition from board members Paul Canepa, Steven Ding and some members of the community during public comment addressing concerns of using taxpayer dollars to replace all 25 locations when the county is only required to have 14.
Hale addressed these concerns citing the need for access to serve all parts of the county, including those with smaller populations.
The ROV requested funding for a total of 29 new drop boxes, 25 to replace the current ones and 2 extra as needed for backup and 2 smaller versions for smaller-scale elections.
These drop boxes are planned to be replaced before the upcoming primary elections on March 5, 2024, according to the ROV.
Vote-by-mail ballots will be sent out to San Joaquin County residents in February 2024.
In-person voting will still be available during the election as well.
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