Smile! You're on camera: San Joaquin County supervisors approve fortified ballot boxes

As conversations about election integrity heat up in San Joaquin County and across the nation, election officials are looking for ways to secure voting systems ahead of the 2024 Primary.

At a meeting this week, the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors approved a proposal to replace current vote-by-mail drop boxes across the county with new drop boxes equipped with security measures to prevent election fraud.

With the supervisors' vote, nearly $200,000 will be sent to the San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters to replace the county's 25 vote-by-mail boxes with "Vote Armor" ballot boxes from Laserfab, Inc.

About 50,000 San Joaquin County voters used ballot drop boxes during the 2022 General Election, according to the registrar of voters.

Despite the current system being compliant with secretary of state requirements and having precautions to ensure the security of ballot boxes, Registrar Olivia Hale said that "change is definitely needed."

Those changes will include fortified locking mechanisms, security cameras and tamper seals on the boxes.

As an added layer of protection, the boxes will be securely bolted to permanent locations throughout the county and sealed during non-election years.

"We currently chain our drop boxes to a fixed structure," Hale said. "While this is a secure method, it could be compromised by a dedicated individual with specialized tools."

The current boxes are on wheels, so bolt-cutters could used and thieves could wheel them away.

Although an incident like this hasn't occurred in San Joaquin County, the registrar said she is counting on the new drop boxes "to help ensure that it doesn't" in the future.

Increase trust, engagement

California Election Code 18564 states that any person who tampers with, interferes with, or attempts to interfere with the correct operation of any voting machine, voting device, voting system, vote tabulating device, or ballot tally software program source codes is guilty of a felony.

Some community members have expressed concerns with the county's voting system after former Lodi City Councilman Shakir Khan was arrested Feb. 16 on suspicion of election fraud.

Prosecutors have accused Khan of writing false names on his candidate nomination petition before the 2020 election and listing his home as the address for numerous voters, among several other election code violations.

The Election Advisory Committee was approved by the board in April in response to Khan's arrest and other community concerns. The committee provides recommendations to the board of supervisors and the registrar of voters "to reform the public’s perception of the integrity of the electoral process and to increase voter confidence, public trust, and voter engagement in the county."

It also provides a platform for voters to receive information, ask questions, and raise concerns about the electoral process. Hale said feedback from the community was taken into consideration when preparing the proposal.

How the new drop boxes will work

Moving forward, the ballot pick-up process will be documented by ballot collectors using iPad video, according to Hale.

During pick-ups, a team of two will travel to drop boxes, start recording on their iPads, and confirm there's been no evidence of tampering, Hale said. Ballot collectors will then unlock the box on video, collect the ballots, and lock the box on video.

The registrar said those recordings would be retained by her office for six months for local or state elections and 22 months for federal elections. She also plans to strategically place the new boxes near public buildings that are equipped with security cameras like libraries and recreation centers.

Residents can expect the new boxes to look a little different, too.

When comparing the old drop boxes to the new ones, Hale said the new boxes will include a "metal flap" where the ballots are meant to be inserted. When it's not time to vote, the flap will be inverted and have a metal plate so no one will be able to get into the boxes.

"Something that we've experienced ... if you see the 'push to open' on the old box, the ballot could be slid right in there, even when the box is locked close," Hale said. "We've experienced that after hours once the box is locked people are still pushing stuff in there. We obviously would not count those ballots, but that is one issue that we had with those."

'Fraud is happening before the ballots hit the boxes'

While the majority of the board approved the proposal, Supervisor Steve Ding — who has been critical of the county's voting system in recent months — implied that the drop boxes would not ensure secure elections because "any potential fraud is happening before (the) ballots hit the boxes."

Sheriff Patrick Withrow backed Ding's statement, but provided no further context or evidence to verify the claims.

"Whatever kind of box we have, however many we have, so far what we've identified is it's (fraud) occurring before it hits the box," Withrow said.

He later added that he would bring a report on election crimes to the board "after everything is sealed up on the prosecution's side" of Khan's case. No other cases were mentioned.

All of the county's 25 vote-by-mail boxes are planned to be replaced with the Vote Armor ballot boxes before the upcoming primary election on March 5. Vote-by-mail ballots will be sent out to San Joaquin County residents during the first week of February.

Record reporter Hannah Workman covers news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at hworkman@recordnet.com or on Twitter @byhannahworkman. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at recordnet.com/subscribenow.

This article originally appeared on The Record: Here's how your next ballot drop off may go in San Joaquin County