Voting Protection Concerns Coming In Front of Board of Supervisors

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - The  Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors has received an update on the elections process for this year to respond to questions from the public as the June 2 Primary is now underway.

The Chief Deputy Registrar of Voters Martin Cobos spoke to the board after questions were raised on April 21st regarding voter security. He went through the process to assure the board the elections were not only secure but available for inspection. "We are not partisan, we count the votes, we report the vote," he said.

As far as fraud or tampering, Cobos said, "there have been several (claims) investigated by various agencies but I have not seen an instance that I can say was voter fraud."

That included oversight to make sure the ballot distribution, voting process and counting is protected from start to finish.   

The county works with the Sheriffs Department, District Attorney, and County Administrative office to ensure the ballots are secure and that the public is aware of the process.   

Santa Barbara  County Supervisor Laura Capps, was clearly concerned about any type of real or perceived actions that could keep a registered voter from the polls. "Counties run county elections, not the federal government, not even the state governments.  Counties. " She stressed that the ballots are sent out locally and come back to the county elections office for processing until all area counted.

Ballots must be postmarked by election day, but can arrive seven days later.

All election ballot boxes are opened regularly by the staff, in two-person teams, for ballots to be retrieved. One election night when the polls close and the election ends at 8 p.m. all election ballot boxes are locked and the final ballots are taken out.

Anyone in a line when the polls close, will still be allowed to vote. No one else can get in that line.

There is also outreach and information coming out regularly through the County Communications Director Kelsey Gerckens Buttitta who is providing information for the public through news releases and videos.

The County Elections Division has a voter "Know Your Rights" information guide on line and in election materials that have been sent out to those who are also receiving a a vote by mail ballot.

Each ballot has a bar code and only one can be turned in per person. This prevents someone from voting by mail and also in person. The system will not allow more than one ballot per registered voter.

Ballots have to have a signature on the envelope that matches the one on file. A special scanning device does the verification. Ballots without a signature on the envelope are handled in person by election workers who will contact the voter to come in and resolve the issue.

Staff is available in-person or on the phone to answer any questions about the process, how to register and how to track their vote.

The board's concerns about the safety of the voting process from Immigration Enforcement officers included questions for local law enforcement.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown spoke to the board and said he had a Lieutenant assigned to have oversight of this election and respond other resources as needed. This includes at the elections office and at polling places as needed.

He said federal agents are allowed, like other citizens, to vote but should not otherwise be near election polling places or the elections office.

Larry Behrendt is with Indivisible Santa Barbara. He said, "I personally like using the drop boxes. I feel the most confidence with that." He said having more than 18 countywide would be better than the number available now, to make it more convenient to those living in rural areas. Behrendt said he would be discussing the most recent report with other concerned community leaders and meet with the elections office or Sheriff if they had unresolved concerns. "We want to make certain that people feel safe approaching a polling place," he said.

Capps said the public will be getting the message, "if you see something that doesn't seem right to you should just tell a  poll worker they are trained in what to do. "

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