STOCKTON, Calif. — San Joaquin County voter Hardyel Dattt exercised his right to vote Friday and there were eyes watching as he slid his ballot into the drop box in front of San Joaquin County's administration building.
"We have surveillance cameras on all of our 25 drop boxes throughout the county," said San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters, Olivia Hale. "It's also live streamed to our website so voters can view the cameras at any time."
The cameras are part of a $226,000 contract with the live camera tech company EarthCam.
"We took a stab at it in the 2024 primary. The vendor we partnered with was not able to deliver the live streaming feature of the products and even post-election, we had some issues," said Hale. "So EarthCam came along. We went through a rigorous process looking at different vendors."
The high-definition cameras are available to the public and law enforcement through the county's website at any time of day. All footage from the cameras will be archived for 22 months after Election Day.
"They actually allow for zooming in, they have night vision," said Hale. "I have a cell phone number that I can contact the sheriff if need be. To our knowledge, there has not been a problem with drop boxes. But it doesn't really matter what we know or what knowledge we have. It's public perception, and we want our voters to feel safe and secure."
Watch more from ABC10: San Joaquin County elections officials prepare for March primary