IN PHOTOS: Here’s how vote-by-mail ballots are counted in Orange County
Vote-by-Mail ballots collected from drop boxes are securely transported by two-person teams and logged in at the Registrar of Voters (ROV) headquarters receiving prior to processing. Photo by Kathy Rafferty / el Don
For the past two weeks, el Don has been going to the Orange County Registrar of Voters Headquarters in Santa Ana to learn about secure voting and how local vote-by-mail ballots are received and processed firsthand.
Many meticulous steps are involved in receiving and processing the ballots, including verifying signatures, scanning, sorting and storing the ballots on secure hard drives. Below are exclusive behind-the-scenes looks as staff prepare for the historic election on Nov. 5.
After Vote-by-Mail ballot envelopes are received from ballot drop boxes, the Post Office, or Vote Centers they are scanned and sorted by precinct. Photo by Kathy Rafferty / el DonROV staff review the ballot envelope images and verify signatures against voter registration records. Those that don’t match are flagged for further review. Photo by Kathy Rafferty / el DonBallot envelopes pass through an extractor device that slices open the envelope so the ballot can be manually removed. Overhead monitors display the activity at each extraction station. Photo by Kathy Rafferty / el DonTo be counted, Vote-by-Mail ballots must be scanned, reviewed and stored on secure drives until after 8 p.m. election night. The scanners are not connected to any outside network or the internet. Photo by Kathy Rafferty / el DonBallots that are damaged or not properly marked go through an additional process. The original ballot is labeled “ORIGINAL” and duplicate ballots, marked by hand or electronically, are stamped “DUPLICATE”. They are then reviewed and scanned. Photo by Kathy Rafferty / el DonMonitors allow members of the public to observe the signature verification and ballot duplication processes up close without affecting staff. Election Observers must sign in and are allowed to take notes and watch all procedures as long as they don’t interfere with voting or the election process. Photo by Kathy Rafferty / el Don
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