Follow-Up: Orange County, California: Registrar Opens Ballot-Processing Steps to Public Tour and Urges Caution on Online Misinformation
The Orange County Registrar of Voters in California opened its operation to media and elected officials this week, walking visitors through every step of ballot handling, from drop-box collection and receiving to sorting, signature comparison, duplication, scanning and tabulation. State Senator Catherine Blakespear and Chief Assistant District Attorney Keith Bogardus joined Tuesday's tour, and California Office of Emergency Services Director Caroline Thomas Jacobs toured the Registrar's headquarters on Wednesday, October 28, urging voters to be cautious about election misinformation circulating online.
Officials explained that two-person teams collect ballots from drop boxes that are bolted to concrete and GPS-tracked, and that a sheriff's sergeant is embedded at the Registrar's headquarters for security. Every mail ballot passes signature comparison, and ballots that cannot be read are duplicated under legal procedures before scanning.
Registrar of Voters Bob Page said his office has invested about $4 million since 2023 in staffing and systems, plus a $3.2 million state grant for ballot-opening and counting software.
All 191 Orange County Vote Centers open on October 31 ahead of Election Day on November 3. Voters with questions can call the Registrar's hotline at 888-OC-VOTES.
The Registrar previously reported that more than 337,000 mail ballots had already been returned countywide. Officials said the tours are meant to let voters see each security and verification step for themselves.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 选票整理作业（资料图）。美国海军陆战队照片，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Voting ballots being organized (file photo). U.S. Marine Corps photo, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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- 2026-10-29Follow-Up: Orange County, California: Registrar Opens Ballot-Processing Steps to Public Tour and Urges Caution on Online MisinformationThis story
