STOCKTON, Calif. — The countdown to the March 5 Primary Election is on as mail-in ballots have gone out, and the San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters is beefing up existing measures, and adding a new security measure, after a recent voter fraud case.
Olivia Hale, the San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters, says it has been 18 months of preparation.
In the past year and a half, her department has automated the process on date stamping and counting the amount of vote-by-mail ballots, digitizing process with drop boxes, ballot transport bags will have digital tracking devices and implemented a total of three levels of teams to check and review challenges to signatures on ballots and candidate papers.
“We are prepared and excited and ready to go and ready to execute Election Day,” said Hale.
One new security measure came after a recent voter fraud case.
“If we have residences with more than 10 voters registered in them, we go ahead and we run a report. We work with our (San Joaquin County) Sheriff's Office (to investigate),” said Hale.
She says they have already used this new security measure but have not taken any serious action.
“We ran our report, we sent it over and they did an assessment. We determined that at this moment in time, there is not really any huge concerns,” said Hale.
The new security measure comes after former Lodi City Council Shakir Khan pleaded no contest to 77 counts of money laundering and election fraud in January 2024.
Investigators said they found 41 mail-in ballots at his home, and 71 names were registered to his home or cell number.
Under the plea deal, he will receive a two-year sentence at the San Joaquin County Jail.
Hale says she hopes this new security measure, and others they have beefed up, will provide a sense that this election is safe and secure.
“Our county is doing all that we can to ensure that the voters’ ballots are safe and secure and taken care of accurate are counted accurately and correctly,” said Hale.
Aside from mail-in ballots, in-person early voting in San Joaquin County is only allowed at the Registrar of Voters downtown Stockton location.
On Election Day, there will be 153 voting locations throughout the county.
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