Local Elections: A Conversation with Keaton Denlay

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Hello everyone.
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Welcome to another episode of the Sheriff's Mike.
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Clear to talk with me, Sheriff Corey Honey.
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Today I have Butte County's clerk recorder, Keaton Dinley, as my guest.
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I wanted to bring him on uh to talk a little bit about what his department does.
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It's probably a department that a lot of people don't have a uh real clear understanding of all the things that they do.
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But one of the things that they do is they run elections in Butte County.
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And as you're probably well aware, the topic of election security has been at the forefront uh for the last couple of years, definitely.
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It's been in the news here recently.
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And I just thought it would be good to get uh Keaton on so that he could talk a little bit about what goes on here in Butte County and and how he uh and the people that work for him ensure that uh at least within the the borders of Butte County uh elections are safe and secure and that the results that uh he ultimately uh reports out to us at the end of an election uh are accurate.
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So Keaton, thanks for coming on.
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Yeah, thanks for the opportunity.
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Happy to be here.
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Yeah.
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Well, I think first off, why don't you just uh inform the people who listen to this podcast a little bit?
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Tell us a little bit about yourself, and then tell us about your department and what you guys do.
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Sure, yeah.
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It's a it's a it's a big department that covers a lot of a lot of areas.
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Uh you know, I am elected, I'm the county clerk or quarter and registrar of voters.
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Uh those are three jobs that aren't necessarily go together.
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And county to county, they may be mix and matched.
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You may have an auditor that's doing elections, or you may have an assessor who's also the recorder.
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But in View County, that's how we have it set up.
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So I'm the clerk or quarter and registrar of voters.
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Got it.
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Yeah.
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And so let's talk a little bit about uh the clerk recorder side of your of your operation.
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Uh tell everybody a little bit about what that side of the operation does.
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Yeah.
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So firstly is the clerk.
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Okay.
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So uh you have vital records, births, deaths, marriages.
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Okay.
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Uh we handle all those.
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We do ceremonies in our office as well, which is a lot of fun.
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Okay.
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And then uh that's also FBNs, which is fictitious business names.
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So we handle all of the filings for those.
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Uh and that's kind of the the clerk functions.
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Okay.
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The recorder functions is mostly anything that has to do with real property.
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Okay.
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So we have mortgages, uh, deeds, quick claim deeds, trusts, uh, liens on property, uh, so we handle all of those there.
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Okay.
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And uh that's kind of been another topic of uh conversation recently is you know, how do we protect real estate transactions and make sure that uh you know everybody's uh property is being looked after.
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And as far as from our perspective, if a document that get that's brought in you know meets the recording requirements, we have to record it.
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Right.
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We're not scanning those necessarily to make sure that they are uh legit or if they're fraudulent or not.
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Uh but we do have a new program that's gonna be coming out on that recorder side, which is which is pretty exciting.
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Uh working with the DA's office and the assessor to make sure that any property that is being transferred in Butte County, whether it's a deed, deed of trust, mortgage or quick claim deed, uh those grantors are gonna be getting a notice in the mail basically saying, hey, this was recorded on your property, and uh if if it was you and you knew about it, great, nothing to worry about.
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But if there is something fishy going on, we can refer those to the DA's office.
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So that's a fantastic new thing we're rolling out uh specifically from that recorder side.
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Fantastic.
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I want to come back to that in a minute, but before we leave the the clerk side, so if you want to if you want a marriage license, come to your office, right?
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That's right.
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If somebody dies, uh the death certificate gets filed with your office.
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Yeah, and in Butte County, okay.
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Uh if if you're gonna uh uh start a business and you have business license, that that's where that goes you go.
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Yeah, if you got a fictitious business name you need you need to register.
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You know, if uh you know your business isn't your own name, if you've you've created something, uh you you'll do that filing with us.
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That way the people of the county know who they're dealing with when they deal with your business.
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Got it.
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So going to the uh recorder side, and you talked about you know dealing with real estate.
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So there's lots and lots of paperwork that ultimately gets filed with your office, right?
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Recorded, yes.
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Recorded, recorded your office.
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Um uh the deal with real estate.
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And that all goes, or is it fair to say that the majority of that uh pertains to who actually legally owns a piece of property?
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Yeah, that that's right.
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Yeah.
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And I've heard it explained before that that is really what separates even like a first world country from third world countries is that you have property, it's real property, you can own it, and you don't have some warlord who can come in and can just contest that you whether you own it or not.
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You have the the track and we can track property all the way back to 1850 when the county started.
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Okay, right.
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So you have the the land trusts that uh grants that started back in 1850, and we can track that property all the way to present and know who owned it every step along the way, so that whether you're selling property or you're buying it, you know that the person you're buying it from was accurate.
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And that's the work that title companies do using the records that are in our office.
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Right.
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Make sure that the person selling property has a legitimate right to do it.
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That's right.
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Yeah.
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So the piece that we're talking about here is this uh phenomenon where people actually uh falsely record deeds to property and in that regard try to steal title of the property, correct?
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Yeah, that's right.
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And I actually just had a conversation with the DA the other day about this at the Board of Supervisors meeting.
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Um he kind of phrased it in in a good way.
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It's that they can't actually steal the property, but they can cloud the title.
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Okay.
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Which is a hassle for somebody if you're trying to sell your property and there's a cloud hanging over the title, you have to clear that up before you can transfer it.
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So I would suspect that the the motive really behind uh recording that fictitious or false deed uh to make it look as though you own it, is that so they can then go get somebody to lend money on that or you know, take a mortgage out on it and then use the money for their own purposes.
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Is that the general that's right.
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That that's certainly a an avenue for them to benefit from from the that fraud.
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Uh the other side of it is getting in their name and then doing a quick sale to the to the next person, right?
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You know, you see a property that's too good to be true, right?
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There's a possibility that that that could be the case.
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Got it.
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Now, I I do want to kind of preface that with saying that you know fraud in that sector is really rare.
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Okay.
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Um you know, we we went years and years and years with without any.
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There's been a couple cases recently, but nothing like a huge spike that people really need to be looking out for.
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But like I said, those new notices that we're gonna be sending out are going to give uh property owners that added uh sense of confidence.
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Got it.
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And to go back on that, uh your y by law, if somebody presents a document that appears to be valid on his face, you're required to accept it and record it.
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Is that true?
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That's right.
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Yeah, it's actually in the first section of the uh government code rec relating to recorders that if it meets recording requirements, we shall record it.
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Yeah.
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And uh but this this new program will give the person who you believe was the owner of that property or the had the had the title of that property uh notice that there was been some transaction on that property, and then they can say, hey, that wasn't me, or that was me.
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If that was them, that's fine.
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But if that wasn't that wasn't them and there's a potential for fraud, then what do they do next?
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So the the letter that we're gonna be sending out is gonna have the information on what they can do.
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Uh they're gonna have the contact information for the DA fraud unit.
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Okay, and they can get them started as quickly as possible.
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Fantastic.
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You know, that sort of thing with with property transfers, is is you want to tackle it sooner rather than later.
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And the sooner that we can give notice to the property owners, the sooner they can alert the DA's office and then uh put a stop to it.
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Fantastic.
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That's good.
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Um that's an exciting program, and I'm glad that there's a collaboration between your office and the DA's office.
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And that's gonna start January 27th.
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Okay, fantastic.
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Good, good.
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Well, uh maybe when that program rolls out, uh we can we can have you back on and we talk more about that.
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But I think it's a good a good uh uh bit of information for people to start with.
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Yeah, yeah, right.
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Let's turn to uh the other, the third, the third department that you run, right?
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Buried the lead a little bit.
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Yeah, yeah, which is the elections department, right?
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Tell us what your role is with regard to that particular aspect.
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Yeah, so I'm the registrar of voters for Butte County, which means we uh administer all of the local elections.
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Okay.
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Uh we do voter registration, and then we also actually do the elections.
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In some jurisdictions, uh other states, those two things may be split, but we do voter registration and the actual administration of elections, and that's elections for the feds, the state, county, uh we consolidate local cities as well as uh schools and special districts.
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Okay.
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So everything down from your local irrigation districts, we debate meant type stuff, all the way up to the federal government, we do all those elections.
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So if it's uh if there's an election to any kind of office that has jurisdiction within Butte County or some kind of ballot measure that may affect Butte County, be the you know state or local or something like that, it's gonna come through your office.
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That's right.
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All all of it does.
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The only exception would be landowner districts.
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Okay.
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Uh because that they're operated on a different uh election system.
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Okay.
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Uh you know, the elections that we do are what everybody would be familiar with is one person, one vote, that type of thing.
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Whereas landowner districts votes are cast based on value of property and acreage and things like that.
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And those are generally handled handled either by uh public works or um other other agencies handle those.
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Those aren't what we have enrolling.
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Trevor Burrus, Jr.
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But the the elections that we have, you know, like every June and every November or the primaries and the generals, that's all us.
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That's all you.
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Yep.
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And uh everything from President of the United States all the way down to the proverbial dog catcher.
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Yeah, all of it.
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Yeah, you handle all that.
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So uh let's start off with the whole register, uh you know, registering people to vote piece of it, right?
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Because um uh I mean that's I think where it begins, right?
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You you've got to be registered to vote in order to vote in an election, right?
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Yeah, absolutely.
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And um uh are there qualifications to become a registered voter?
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Oh yeah.
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What are they?
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So well you have to be an adult, okay.
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Uh 18 to vote, okay.
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And then you have to uh be a citizen and a resident of the county.
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Okay.
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And then you're also gonna be uh receive a ballot based on your residency within the county, right?
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If you live in the city of Chico, you're gonna get a different ballot than somebody who lives in Oroville or somebody who lives in the unincorporated areas, for example.
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Trevor Burrus, Jr.
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Right.
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So, for example, if you live in the city of Chico, you're gonna be voting on who the city council members are.
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But if you live in the county, you're not covered by the city council, so you wouldn't get to vote on them.
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Yeah, is that fair?
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Yeah, and that's a common question that we get because people will see signs for candidates, right, for a city council or mayor or something like that.
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But if you live in Gridley, you're not gonna see the city uh mayor uh for Oroville on your ballot.
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Right.
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So really elections for us starts with maps.
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Okay.
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Uh whereas you know, voters, their first interaction with it is when they're filling out their voter registration form.
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Right.
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But we have to have every address in the county precincted so that we know that address, that home, people who are registered there, they live in this city council district, they live in this school district, rec district, all the way down.
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Right.
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Uh and there can be dozens of different combinations by the time we get to election day of uh what's on your ballot versus what's on somebody else's ballot who may be as close to being across as across the street.
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Sure.
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They could have a different ballot than you based on where they live.
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Right.
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Right.
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But the uh the requirements that you be an adult, you be a citizen of the United States, and uh and a resident of Butte County and the particular area is all the same for everybody here.
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That's right.
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Yeah.
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Yep.
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Yeah.
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Um let's talk a little bit about uh how one uh actually becomes a registered voter.
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You have to fill out some paperwork, right?
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Yeah, you can do that.
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How do you do that?
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Well, uh you can fill out the form, which is the old-fashioned way, the voter registration card.
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Yeah.
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Uh you know, you can get those like the post office or any uh agency that deals with uh you know like Social Security or anything like that.
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Uh or you can register online.
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Okay.
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And then you can also be registered automatically through the DMV if you are uh participating with the DMV, getting your real ID uh driver's license, for example, and if you're going through the process with them and proving that you are eligible, uh they can also sign you up as a registered voter if you opt into that.
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So let's talk a little bit about that too, because I want to make sure that there's no mis uh uh communication or there's not confusion about that.
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So obviously you can get the the the paper uh registration form, you fill that whole thing out.
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Uh go online, is it your uh website?
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Is it county what what how do they go online to so that they can access it through our website?
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Okay, through the butte county.
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Yeah, buttevotes.ca.gov.
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Okay.
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Uh there's gonna be a link on there if you want to register to vote, it'll actually take you to the state's website uh because voter registration, though managed at the local level, is um sort of part of a statewide system.
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Okay.
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And that's the way we make sure that somebody's not registered here and registered in Calusa County, for example.
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Got it.
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Uh so we can have that interaction.
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But when you register, you're providing your name, your date of birth, uh, your driver's license number or last four, your social.
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Uh also you're signing an affidavit that you are an adult and that you are a eligible voter, being meaning that you're a citizen.
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Okay.
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Uh, and then you also need to provide us with your residence address.
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That way we can pre-sync to get you the correct ballot.
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Okay.
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And uh that affidavit is is it signed under penalty of perjury?
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That's right.
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So it's a crime if you're lying.
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Oh, yeah.
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Yeah.
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So I want to go to the DMV thing.
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So if I and and this is where, because as you're well aware, right?
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There's a lot of concern about non-citizens voting.
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Yes.
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A lot of that.
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And a non-citizen can go to DMV and get a ID card.
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Correct.
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They can also get a driver's license.
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Um, are those people registered to vote?
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No, they are not.
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Okay.
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When I say automatically registered, it's people who are eligible and that opt in can that can then be registered to vote while they're at the DMV.
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Okay.
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And the idea is just to make it as easy for eligible voters to register.
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Right.
00:13:16.159 --> 00:13:20.000
If you're already filling out all the paperwork, they have all your information, they might as well send it to us.
00:13:20.240 --> 00:13:20.399
For sure.
00:13:20.639 --> 00:13:32.559
And then what we're doing with that is we're checking it against vote cal, which is the statewide database that is going to check their name, their driver's license number, their date of birth, last four, their social, and make sure that that lines up with a person that exists.
00:13:32.559 --> 00:13:32.960
Okay.
00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:37.279
You know, so it's not just a completely made up, you know, jumble of numbers that they put on this form.
00:13:37.279 --> 00:13:37.600
Yeah.
00:13:37.600 --> 00:13:41.360
Uh if that happened, it it would not pass that validation check.
00:13:41.759 --> 00:13:51.360
Now I thought I heard you say, but I could be wrong, that that uh DMV slash voter registration component uh is part of obtaining a real ID.
00:13:51.679 --> 00:13:52.320
Yeah, that's right.
00:13:52.559 --> 00:13:56.799
And that real ID process for the D DMV requires you to submit a birth certificate.
00:13:56.799 --> 00:13:58.320
Uh it's a pretty arduous process.
00:13:58.639 --> 00:13:59.279
Yeah, it's elaborate.
00:13:59.279 --> 00:14:01.360
If anybody's gone through it, it it's a hassle.
00:14:01.360 --> 00:14:01.600
Yeah.
00:14:01.600 --> 00:14:10.559
Uh and yeah, you're you're showing them your passport, your your uh your uh birth certificate, like you said, um proof of your residency, all that stuff.
00:14:11.039 --> 00:14:17.039
The same you don't have to show your birth certificate or passport if you're filling out the form, do you?
00:14:17.360 --> 00:14:17.759
No, you don't.
00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:18.159
Right.
00:14:18.159 --> 00:14:19.120
Or if you're going online.
00:14:19.120 --> 00:14:19.360
Trevor Burrus, Jr.
00:14:19.519 --> 00:14:19.679
Right.
00:14:19.679 --> 00:14:22.639
But but you are you are uh providing that information.
00:14:22.639 --> 00:14:25.679
You're providing your driver's license number, last four, your social date of birth.
00:14:25.679 --> 00:14:25.919
Okay.
00:14:27.279 --> 00:14:35.360
So um how do you guarantee I see how the DMV guarantees that you meet the requirements of being an adult, being a resident, uh being a citizen.
00:14:35.360 --> 00:14:40.960
How does that uh verification process work when they're filling out the form or they're going online?
00:14:41.360 --> 00:14:49.519
Well, so when they're filling out those forms, if the information that they are providing does not check out when we check it against the state database, uh they become what's called a first-time federal voter.
00:14:49.519 --> 00:14:52.480
Okay, and it's through Hava with Help America Vote Act.
00:14:52.480 --> 00:14:58.559
And what they are required to do then is they do have to identify themselves with an ID the first time that they vote in a federal election.
00:14:58.559 --> 00:14:58.879
Okay.
00:14:58.879 --> 00:15:01.919
So you can't just skip those forms and get registered and you're fine.
00:15:01.919 --> 00:15:02.399
Got it.
00:15:02.399 --> 00:15:14.240
Uh the first time that you do vote, uh, whether it's in person or by mail, you have to provide uh an identification that you are who you say you are, and uh that can be a driver's license, uh passport, uh things like that.
00:15:14.240 --> 00:15:17.279
But uh yeah, so there is ID in California.
00:15:17.279 --> 00:15:22.799
It's just required either when you register, and if you don't provide it when you register, you're required to do it the first time you vote in a federal election.
00:15:22.799 --> 00:15:23.039
Trevor Burrus, Jr.
00:15:23.200 --> 00:15:26.879
And we say federal election, we're talking about voting for president, voting for somebody for running for Congress.
00:15:27.519 --> 00:15:27.759
That's right.
00:15:27.759 --> 00:15:32.960
So it's it's any election that's going to have somebody from Congress on it, which is every election, every primary and general election.
00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:33.519
Okay.
00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:38.480
Um if it was just a uh local election, that same requirement doesn't exist.
00:15:38.879 --> 00:15:43.519
Uh it it would re the first-time federal voter does not apply to a special election.
00:15:43.519 --> 00:15:52.000
So if you register to vote and the very next election was a special election for a recall or something like that that wasn't scheduled with a primary or general, it wouldn't catch it then.
00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:54.080
It would catch on the next uh major election.
00:15:54.480 --> 00:15:54.559
Okay.
00:15:54.559 --> 00:15:54.799
Okay.
00:15:54.799 --> 00:16:06.080
Does that cause you concern that uh there's some there's not some catch on every single election, or do you think that the fact that there's a somebody running for federal office on almost all elections takes care of that?
00:16:06.159 --> 00:16:06.320
Aaron Ross Powell, Jr.
00:16:06.320 --> 00:16:07.759
I think it does take care of it.
00:16:07.759 --> 00:16:22.000
And the uh the penalties for uh election fraud are are so significant that if you're here illegally in this country or or you're not a citizen, registering to vote risks your entire livelihood and and deportation if you if you get caught.
00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:22.480
Okay.
00:16:22.480 --> 00:16:30.399
So if you just think through it, you know, this person is providing their name, their address, their date of birth, they're signing it.
00:16:30.399 --> 00:16:36.240
How many felonies do you commit and then give the the government all of your contact information and where to find you?
00:16:36.240 --> 00:16:36.639
Okay.
00:16:36.639 --> 00:16:36.879
Right?
00:16:36.879 --> 00:16:40.240
I mean it just it just doesn't make sense for somebody to try to make that gamble.
00:16:40.240 --> 00:16:40.559
Yeah.
00:16:40.559 --> 00:16:45.200
They're gonna get caught anyway, and then they risk the prosecution and deportation.
00:16:45.600 --> 00:16:45.919
Sure.
00:16:45.919 --> 00:16:46.559
All right.
00:16:46.559 --> 00:16:49.600
So let's uh that's how one registers to vote, right?
00:16:49.759 --> 00:16:50.240
Yeah.
00:16:50.480 --> 00:16:54.720
Um and I'm aware of the fact uh like I have to sign, right?
00:16:54.720 --> 00:16:57.360
I have to sign I think it's uh the envelope, right?
00:16:57.360 --> 00:16:59.759
The envelope that I put my ballot in.
00:16:59.759 --> 00:17:05.359
And I have to sign that so that you can verify that it's me sending that in.
00:17:05.359 --> 00:17:06.559
Is that is that an accurate statement?
00:17:06.559 --> 00:17:07.039
It is.
00:17:07.039 --> 00:17:07.359
Yeah.
00:17:07.519 --> 00:17:13.920
So there's a lot of security actually built into vote by mail that's not available through previous models for elections.
00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:14.400
Okay.
00:17:14.400 --> 00:17:17.839
Uh a couple of things, one of them you mentioned is the signature on the envelope.
00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:22.640
When we get those uh signatures back, we are checking those against your registration.
00:17:22.640 --> 00:17:22.960
Okay.
00:17:22.960 --> 00:17:25.920
Any signature that you've ever registered with, we have all of those.
00:17:25.920 --> 00:17:26.240
Okay.
00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:28.480
So if your signature's changed over time, we can check that.
00:17:28.480 --> 00:17:28.799
Okay.
00:17:28.799 --> 00:17:32.799
Uh we can also verify the signature in the handwriting against anybody else in your household.
00:17:32.799 --> 00:17:40.160
So we would get an indication if spouse tried to vote your ballot for you or um you know a child tries to vote for parent or the other way around.
00:17:40.160 --> 00:17:40.319
Okay.
00:17:40.319 --> 00:17:42.079
Uh we can check all that stuff there as well, too.
00:17:42.400 --> 00:17:42.480
All right.
00:17:42.480 --> 00:17:46.000
So I think I got ahead of myself because that's primarily the vote by mail piece, right?
00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:46.319
Yeah.
00:17:46.319 --> 00:17:49.279
So uh let's take us back a step through.
00:17:49.279 --> 00:17:52.480
We now you we've talked about how you get people registered to vote.
00:17:52.480 --> 00:18:04.000
Um are there uh can you uh are there pla uh places you can go and vote like the old days where you would you know go to a precinct or you'd go to somebody's garage and they had the whole thing set up.
00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:05.200
Have you uh you know what I'm talking about?
00:18:05.200 --> 00:18:05.519
Yeah.
00:18:05.519 --> 00:18:05.839
Yeah.
00:18:05.839 --> 00:18:08.240
Uh does that still exist or is it all vote by mail now?
00:18:08.559 --> 00:18:09.680
No, it certainly does still exist.
00:18:09.680 --> 00:18:10.079
Okay.
00:18:10.079 --> 00:18:16.640
Uh we have what's called a the Voters Choice Act in Butte County, okay, which means that voters have the choice on how they participate in the elections.
00:18:16.640 --> 00:18:16.960
Okay.
00:18:16.960 --> 00:18:20.640
They can vote by mail, they can use a ballot drop box, or they can go in person and vote.
00:18:20.640 --> 00:18:21.039
Okay.
00:18:21.039 --> 00:18:26.960
So we have voter assistance centers, okay, which means that you can go to any voter assistance center in the county uh for any of the days that they're open.
00:18:26.960 --> 00:18:28.240
It's not just on election day.
00:18:28.240 --> 00:18:28.559
Okay.
00:18:28.559 --> 00:18:31.599
So that way you can vote in person if you want to do it early and avoid the lines.
00:18:31.599 --> 00:18:31.839
Okay.
00:18:31.839 --> 00:18:40.640
Or if you just enjoy that pageantry and tradition of waiting in line and standing in the booth, you're more than welcome to do that too, all the way up till 8 p.m.
00:18:40.640 --> 00:18:41.279
on election day.
00:18:41.599 --> 00:18:41.839
Okay.
00:18:41.839 --> 00:18:45.680
Uh is it fair to say that the majority of people vote by mail now?
00:18:46.079 --> 00:18:47.359
Yeah, absolutely they do.
00:18:47.359 --> 00:18:54.640
Now, almost every ballot in Butte County is cast on a vote-by-mail ballot, which means the ballots that are mailed out.
00:18:54.640 --> 00:19:02.079
Uh whether they drop them off or want to fill them out in person or send them back in the mail or use a drop box, they're all the same ballot.
00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:04.160
It's still a vote-by-mail ballot, it goes in the envelope.
00:19:04.160 --> 00:19:07.200
It still has the uh unique barcode on it for tracking.
00:19:07.200 --> 00:19:07.440
Okay.
00:19:07.440 --> 00:19:09.680
It still has the signature verification on it.
00:19:09.680 --> 00:19:15.279
Uh but like I said, you have the choice of whether you want to do that in person at a ballot drop box or or through the mail.
00:19:15.599 --> 00:19:15.759
Okay.
00:19:15.759 --> 00:19:22.160
So what you're what I'm saying is that, or what you're saying is that the the actual ballot you're voting on is is going to be the same no matter what your choice is.
00:19:22.160 --> 00:19:22.960
Trevor Burrus, Jr.: It's identical.
00:19:22.960 --> 00:19:29.200
So it's not like you're going to go into a uh into a booth anymore and punch a hole into a ballot.
00:19:29.200 --> 00:19:29.920
No, no.
00:19:29.920 --> 00:19:31.599
Those days are long gone with the punch cards.
00:19:31.599 --> 00:19:32.559
Yeah, right.
00:19:32.559 --> 00:19:42.000
And we'll uh I know you'll get this, but we'll I'll be certain date dating myself the the whole hanging chad uh fiasco of the what uh gore Florida in 2000.
00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:42.799
Exactly.
00:19:42.799 --> 00:19:43.279
Yeah, yeah.
00:19:43.279 --> 00:19:43.599
Right.
00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:45.920
Um we we we don't have those anymore for good reason.
00:19:45.920 --> 00:19:46.240
Okay.
00:19:46.240 --> 00:19:55.200
Uh the 2000 election really spurred the Help America Vote Act and an investment in modernization and elections that has really just progressed since then.
00:19:55.200 --> 00:19:55.599
Okay.
00:19:55.599 --> 00:20:05.039
Uh one of the challenges with those ballots and uh younger audiences may not may not be as familiar with it, uh but they had physical punch outs for for your choice.
00:20:05.039 --> 00:20:11.039
And the problem with those is you run them through the machine, and with perforations they get looser and looser every time you run them through a machine.
00:20:11.200 --> 00:20:11.440
Sure.
00:20:11.599 --> 00:20:21.039
And if they were trying to do recounts in Florida like they were, and you're running those ballots for the second or third time through those machines, it starts to knock out more and more of those tabs every time you run them through.
00:20:21.039 --> 00:20:21.599
Got it.
00:20:21.599 --> 00:20:24.160
And then you don't have a record of what that ballot was originally.
00:20:24.160 --> 00:20:25.279
The original ballot.
00:20:25.279 --> 00:20:25.519
Right.
00:20:25.519 --> 00:20:25.759
Yeah.
00:20:25.759 --> 00:20:26.000
Okay.
00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:29.759
So every time they were recounting, they were getting different numbers and couldn't figure out why.
00:20:29.759 --> 00:20:31.920
Because pieces of paper kept falling out.
00:20:31.920 --> 00:20:33.680
So what we have now is optical scan.
00:20:33.680 --> 00:20:34.079
Okay.
00:20:34.079 --> 00:20:39.759
Uh in in the wake of 2000, they did switch to voting machines for a period of time.
00:20:40.079 --> 00:20:40.160
Right.
00:20:40.160 --> 00:20:40.880
I want to talk about that too.
00:20:40.880 --> 00:20:42.000
But yeah, go okay, go ahead.
00:20:42.160 --> 00:20:46.319
So so we don't have those now, but but the current solution is we have optical scan.
00:20:46.319 --> 00:20:46.480
Okay.
00:20:46.480 --> 00:20:54.559
Which there's no punch outs, it's just what you see is what you get every ballot uh in America except Louisiana, I think, is cast on paper.
00:20:54.559 --> 00:20:54.880
Okay.
00:20:54.880 --> 00:20:57.359
Uh so there are no voting machines anymore.
00:20:57.359 --> 00:21:00.559
It's all it's all on paper, and they are all real ballots.
00:21:00.559 --> 00:21:07.920
Uh some voters, you know, they'll ask for they go in person because they think they'll get a real ballot if they go in person and it's somehow different from the vote by mail ballot.
00:21:07.920 --> 00:21:08.160
Okay.
00:21:08.160 --> 00:21:08.880
But it's identical.
00:21:08.880 --> 00:21:12.319
The one that we send you versus the one we hand you in person, they're all the same.
00:21:12.400 --> 00:21:12.799
Trevor Burrus, Jr.: Right.
00:21:12.799 --> 00:21:15.359
And and it's an actually it's it's like it's like cardstock.
00:21:15.359 --> 00:21:16.960
It's or it's it's paper, right?
00:21:16.960 --> 00:21:17.279
Yeah.
00:21:17.279 --> 00:21:17.839
Yeah.
00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:20.480
Um bamboo fibers in there or anything.
00:21:20.799 --> 00:21:21.200
Right, yeah, right.
00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:21.359
Yeah.
00:21:21.359 --> 00:21:25.440
But I mean it's it's it's I mean, it's it's not flimsy paper, but it it's it's it's a paper ballot.
00:21:25.440 --> 00:21:25.920
That's right.
00:21:25.920 --> 00:21:27.440
And you have to actually fill out the bubble.
00:21:27.440 --> 00:21:29.519
You you you fill it in as you as you go through there.
00:21:29.519 --> 00:21:33.039
So the voting machine thing, because I remember the controversy on that, right?
00:21:33.039 --> 00:21:39.920
The whole allegation that I I voted for one guy and then uh the machine changed it somehow, right?
00:21:39.920 --> 00:21:40.319
Right.
00:21:40.319 --> 00:21:43.200
So we don't have to worry about that anymore because we don't use machines at all.
00:21:43.599 --> 00:21:44.319
That that's correct.
00:21:44.319 --> 00:21:46.319
All all voting is on paper.
00:21:46.319 --> 00:21:46.720
Right.
00:21:46.720 --> 00:21:50.720
Now, voters will see in a voter assistance center we have ballot marking devices.
00:21:50.720 --> 00:21:51.119
Okay.
00:21:51.119 --> 00:21:54.799
Now those are for voters with disabilities or people who just think the technology is neat.
00:21:55.039 --> 00:21:55.200
Okay.
00:21:55.519 --> 00:22:02.240
So so you can mark your choices on the screen, but it still produces a paper ballot that the The voter can then verify to make sure that it was recorded correctly.
00:22:02.240 --> 00:22:02.640
Right.
00:22:02.799 --> 00:22:03.839
It prints it out for you, kind of thing.
00:22:04.240 --> 00:22:05.039
And it's not just a receipt.
00:22:05.039 --> 00:22:07.119
The paper that it prints out is what goes in the box.
00:22:07.119 --> 00:22:08.559
That's what's being counted.
00:22:08.880 --> 00:22:09.039
Okay.
00:22:09.039 --> 00:22:13.200
So it's actually kind of a combination of old technology and new technology, right?
00:22:13.200 --> 00:22:17.599
Because the paper ballot where you actually fill out the bubble is kind of an old technology.
00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:18.160
Yeah.
00:22:18.319 --> 00:22:18.559
Right.
00:22:18.559 --> 00:22:19.680
But it's pretty secure.
00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:21.359
Yeah, you can't hack a piece of paper.
00:22:21.680 --> 00:22:22.240
Right, right.
00:22:22.240 --> 00:22:28.720
And so they fill it out and then they ultimately does everybody s uh uh fold it up and put it in the envelope?
00:22:28.960 --> 00:22:29.119
Yeah.
00:22:29.359 --> 00:22:29.599
Okay.
00:22:29.599 --> 00:22:31.200
And then you have to sign the back of the envelope.
00:22:31.200 --> 00:22:31.839
That's right.
00:22:31.839 --> 00:22:43.119
And that's one of the checks to determine whether or not you are the person you say you are when you fill out that ballot and put in that envelope.
00:22:43.440 --> 00:22:50.559
Because we have the signature that you signed on that affidavit when you registered, and that's the signature that we're using to make sure that that you are who you say you are at the time.
00:22:50.559 --> 00:22:57.599
Now, if for whatever reason the signature doesn't match, uh we will send out what's called a cure letter to the voter to make sure, like, hey, was this you?
00:22:57.599 --> 00:22:58.960
Did you cast this ballot?
00:22:58.960 --> 00:23:04.559
Uh and if it was, we need you to sign another piece of paper and send that to us as a statement of yes, that was me.
00:23:04.559 --> 00:23:08.319
Now, occasionally you have a voter that breaks their hand right before an election or something like that, right?
00:23:08.319 --> 00:23:11.440
So so signatures do change or they can be a little off.
00:23:11.440 --> 00:23:16.160
Um the other uh safety feature there is if they forget to sign it.
00:23:16.160 --> 00:23:16.400
Okay.
00:23:16.400 --> 00:23:21.279
Right, that's not going to count either unless they can go through that cure process with us in the days following the election.
00:23:21.279 --> 00:23:21.599
Okay.
00:23:21.599 --> 00:23:25.440
And so when people feel like uh you know elections take so long, I was gonna ask you.
00:23:25.440 --> 00:23:27.119
Which is another topic I'm sure we'll get into.
00:23:27.119 --> 00:23:32.079
But that's that's one of the things that we're doing is giving voters the opportunity to cure their signature.
00:23:32.079 --> 00:23:38.160
If it was in fact them, we want to make sure that every eligible voter and el uh every eligible ballot is being counted.
00:23:38.480 --> 00:23:38.720
Okay.
00:23:38.720 --> 00:23:45.519
So uh you said you have optical readers that look at the the the um the signature.
00:23:45.519 --> 00:23:54.160
So I'm assuming that the uh correct me if I'm wrong, the envelope before it's opened is going through a machine that is looking at the signature.
00:23:54.160 --> 00:23:54.880
That's right.
00:23:54.880 --> 00:24:00.079
And electronically comparing it to all of your prior signatures, or is that done by a staff member?
00:24:00.400 --> 00:24:00.880
It's done by staff.
00:24:01.200 --> 00:24:02.079
Done by staff, okay.
00:24:02.480 --> 00:24:06.400
So uh the process when an envelope comes in is it goes through the uh machine once.
00:24:06.400 --> 00:24:06.559
Okay.
00:24:06.559 --> 00:24:11.839
And what it is doing is it is scanning the unique barcode on that uh on that ballot or on the envelope.
00:24:11.839 --> 00:24:12.079
Okay.
00:24:12.079 --> 00:24:18.559
And it's letting the voters there's actually a way a voter can track that to know that we've received their ballot and it's arrived safely in our office.
00:24:18.559 --> 00:24:19.359
You do that online.
00:24:19.359 --> 00:24:20.079
That's right, yes.
00:24:20.079 --> 00:24:25.279
Still through our website, beautboats.ca.gov, and uh they can know that their ballot made it safely.
00:24:25.279 --> 00:24:25.680
Okay.
00:24:25.680 --> 00:24:28.559
The other thing that machine is doing, it is imaging the signature.
00:24:28.559 --> 00:24:29.039
Okay.
00:24:29.039 --> 00:24:36.720
And then it is pr sending that signature over to a monitor where staff can look at it and compare it to the uh signatures on record.
00:24:36.720 --> 00:24:36.960
Okay.
00:24:36.960 --> 00:24:39.279
So that's not being done by AI or a computer.
00:24:39.279 --> 00:24:41.759
It it is staff putting their eyes on it.
00:24:41.759 --> 00:24:42.079
Okay.
00:24:42.079 --> 00:24:46.240
And if it if it doesn't match or it seems like it might be a little bit off, it's reviewed by a supervisor.
00:24:46.240 --> 00:24:46.559
Okay.
00:24:46.559 --> 00:24:52.319
If the supervisor determines that, yeah, this this does not match, uh, then it goes through the cure process that I mentioned.
00:24:52.319 --> 00:24:53.279
We reach out to the voter.
00:24:53.279 --> 00:24:58.880
If we have your phone number, we'll call you, uh, but everybody will get a letter in the mail uh letting them know, like, hey, we received a ballot for you.
00:24:58.880 --> 00:25:00.720
Signature doesn't appear to match what's on record.
00:25:00.720 --> 00:25:02.160
Can you help us clear this up?
00:25:02.640 --> 00:25:07.359
So uh how many staff members on it during an election are looking at signatures?
00:25:07.759 --> 00:25:10.319
Uh well, uh generally three to five.
00:25:10.319 --> 00:25:11.519
Oh, that's not very many.
00:25:11.519 --> 00:25:12.319
No, it's not.
00:25:12.319 --> 00:25:12.880
They're busy.
00:25:12.880 --> 00:25:13.680
They're very busy.
00:25:13.680 --> 00:25:14.720
They're doing a lot of work.
00:25:14.880 --> 00:25:22.640
So it's So uh for context, uh how many people vote in a generally speaking, how many people vote in an election Butte County?
00:25:22.880 --> 00:25:24.160
It can vary election to election.
00:25:24.160 --> 00:25:26.559
Primaries are are generally lower turnout than a general.
00:25:26.559 --> 00:25:26.880
Sure.
00:25:26.880 --> 00:25:33.440
So anywhere between sixty thousand and a hundred and five thousand uh ballots are coming in, and those signatures, every single one of them is getting verified.
00:25:33.440 --> 00:25:33.839
Okay.
00:25:33.839 --> 00:25:34.640
So uh yeah.
00:25:34.640 --> 00:25:36.160
That's right.
00:25:36.160 --> 00:25:36.960
It's not a lot of people.
00:25:36.960 --> 00:25:38.240
No, it no, it really isn't.
00:25:38.240 --> 00:25:41.839
Uh my full-time staff is seven people in the elections division.
00:25:41.839 --> 00:25:45.519
Uh during an election, that that balloons up to 100, 110.
00:25:45.519 --> 00:25:45.839
Okay.
00:25:45.839 --> 00:25:48.480
So we really do have a lot of people that have to come in from the community.
00:25:48.480 --> 00:25:48.720
Yeah.
00:25:48.720 --> 00:26:02.319
And I think that's one thing that people uh enjoy about elections, especially being run at the local level, is they know that these people that are running the elections and doing the work are the people that live in their neighborhoods, they see at soccer practice or at the grocery store.
00:26:02.319 --> 00:26:04.880
It's Butte County voters that are doing all of this work.
00:26:04.880 --> 00:26:05.039
Yeah.
00:26:05.039 --> 00:26:07.359
And it's to make sure that Butte County elections are accurate.
00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:08.079
Yeah.
00:26:08.079 --> 00:26:08.799
All right.
00:26:08.799 --> 00:26:15.920
So uh the people that are out that are looking at the signature, do you provide them with any kind of like specialized training and identifying signatures or how does that work?
00:26:16.240 --> 00:26:16.319
Yeah.
00:26:16.319 --> 00:26:21.680
So the supervisor level that I mentioned before, they do have uh forensic signature analysis training.
00:26:21.839 --> 00:26:22.000
Okay.
00:26:22.240 --> 00:26:26.240
And then they're they are passing what they've learned down to the staff that come in just for the election.
00:26:26.240 --> 00:26:28.000
But that's why we have that secondary review.
00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:28.319
Okay.
00:26:28.319 --> 00:26:32.480
Because we also don't want people with valid signatures being challenged and being hassled, right?
00:26:32.480 --> 00:26:33.599
That their signature doesn't match.
00:26:33.599 --> 00:26:38.880
We want to make sure that we are challenging the signatures that need to be challenged, and then the ones that are valid go through.
00:26:39.519 --> 00:26:42.960
So uh if they look at it, the signature doesn't look like it matches.
00:26:42.960 --> 00:26:46.880
Um uh supervisor agrees, there's this cure process.
00:26:46.880 --> 00:26:50.960
You either call them or you send them a letter, that gives the voter an opportunity to come in.
00:26:50.960 --> 00:26:52.559
How do you how do they cure it?
00:26:52.880 --> 00:27:02.480
So they're going to sign another statement saying that yes, this that ballot was cast by me in this election, and they have to get it to us by the cure deadline, which is twenty-two days after the election.
00:27:02.480 --> 00:27:03.279
Twenty-two days.
00:27:03.279 --> 00:27:04.799
Yeah, and that's California law.
00:27:04.799 --> 00:27:06.880
So that's that's what we're waiting around for after an election.
00:27:07.279 --> 00:27:10.799
Which I think and we're going to get into why it takes so long to get results, and this is that's one of the reasons now.
00:27:10.799 --> 00:27:11.440
That's right.
00:27:11.440 --> 00:27:11.599
Yeah.
00:27:11.599 --> 00:27:12.000
Exactly.
00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:12.240
Okay.
00:27:12.480 --> 00:27:18.559
And and uh voters may experience this where candidates can get the list of who's been whose signatures have been challenged.
00:27:18.559 --> 00:27:18.720
Okay.
00:27:18.720 --> 00:27:22.079
So they can reach out to the voter and be like, hey, I know that you voted for me.
00:27:22.079 --> 00:27:25.359
I want you to you know make sure you get your signature cured and done on time.
00:27:25.359 --> 00:27:35.519
So it's not only us reaching out to the voters, but sometimes the candidates themselves will reach out to the voters because you know they based on their data that they have, they believe that voter is going to be favorable to them, right?
00:27:35.519 --> 00:27:35.839
Yeah.
00:27:35.839 --> 00:27:37.200
So they're reaching out too.
00:27:37.200 --> 00:27:41.039
So there's a lot of people trying to make sure that eligible voters are getting their ballots counted.
00:27:41.440 --> 00:27:41.680
All right.
00:27:41.680 --> 00:27:45.279
So now let's talk about the process where the uh signature matches.
00:27:45.279 --> 00:27:47.920
Um what's the next step in that process?
00:27:48.319 --> 00:27:51.359
So the next step is we have to get that ballot out of that envelope.
00:27:51.599 --> 00:27:51.759
Okay.
00:27:52.000 --> 00:27:53.920
The envelope has the voter's name and address on it.
00:27:54.160 --> 00:27:55.039
And it's got that barcode.
00:27:55.359 --> 00:27:56.240
And it's got the barcode on it.
00:27:56.240 --> 00:27:56.640
Right.
00:27:56.640 --> 00:27:56.799
Okay.
00:27:56.799 --> 00:28:00.319
So uh but the way you cast your ballot is private.
00:28:00.319 --> 00:28:00.799
Correct.
00:28:00.799 --> 00:28:01.200
Right?
00:28:01.200 --> 00:28:02.559
You you're guaranteed that right.
00:28:02.559 --> 00:28:03.200
Right.
00:28:03.200 --> 00:28:10.720
So we have to first thing we have to do is separate that envelope from the ballot or ballot from the envelope, and we have a machine that helps us do that.
00:28:10.720 --> 00:28:10.880
Okay.
00:28:10.880 --> 00:28:15.759
Kind of cuts open the top of the envelope, we can pull the uh ballot out without seeing what's on the envelope.
00:28:16.000 --> 00:28:16.160
Okay.
00:28:16.480 --> 00:28:24.240
And then the uh envelopes are then kind of batched up, put in bags, and they stay right there, whereas the ballots move on to the next step of the process, which is counting.
00:28:24.559 --> 00:28:24.799
Okay.
00:28:24.799 --> 00:28:37.359
And so what how uh what guarantee do people have that someone deep in the bowels of the elections office isn't looking at the ballot and the envelope and going, oh, I know who that guy voted for, right?
00:28:37.680 --> 00:28:37.839
Right.
00:28:37.839 --> 00:28:39.279
Well, they can come watch us do it.
00:28:39.279 --> 00:28:41.680
This entire process is open to the public.
00:28:41.680 --> 00:28:42.160
Okay.
00:28:42.160 --> 00:28:42.319
Okay.
00:28:42.319 --> 00:28:47.359
So anybody who wants to come by during an election, not during an election, uh we'll give them a tour and show them around.
00:28:47.359 --> 00:28:47.759
Okay.
00:28:47.759 --> 00:28:50.319
Uh and and they can watch us do this process.
00:28:50.400 --> 00:28:54.799
Aaron Ross Powell, there's a whole there's whole uh groups of people that could they're the uh election watchers, right?
00:28:54.799 --> 00:28:57.200
There's there's a whole viewing area, yeah, election observers.
00:28:57.200 --> 00:28:58.000
Observers, thank you.
00:28:58.000 --> 00:28:58.319
Yeah, yeah.
00:28:58.640 --> 00:29:01.279
Uh so it can be anybody from the public who's interested.
00:29:01.279 --> 00:29:01.599
Okay.
00:29:01.599 --> 00:29:07.359
Now generally campaigns, candidates will send somebody to to come kind of watch, make sure everything's on the up and up, which is great.
00:29:07.359 --> 00:29:07.680
For sure.
00:29:07.680 --> 00:29:09.279
Uh but you don't have to be involved in all that.
00:29:09.279 --> 00:29:16.480
If you're just a curious citizen and you're and you're concerned the process interested in the process in any reason, uh come by and see it.
00:29:16.480 --> 00:29:16.799
Okay.
00:29:16.799 --> 00:29:20.960
It's a lot more exciting if you come during an election to see the stuff actually happening.
00:29:20.960 --> 00:29:25.119
But anytime uh they can come by our office and and get that kind of experience.
00:29:25.119 --> 00:29:27.680
And uh we basically everything we do is in a fishbowl.
00:29:27.680 --> 00:29:29.119
People can see every step of this process.
00:29:29.119 --> 00:29:31.200
You want to watch us verify signatures, you can do that.
00:29:31.200 --> 00:29:31.440
Okay.
00:29:31.440 --> 00:29:33.599
You want to watch us extract the ballots, you can do that.
00:29:33.599 --> 00:29:33.920
Okay.
00:29:33.920 --> 00:29:36.400
Uh we we conduct our audits, you can watch an audit.
00:29:36.400 --> 00:29:36.720
Okay.
00:29:36.720 --> 00:29:39.599
It's all available in our office, and that's in the Hall of Records in Orville.
00:29:39.920 --> 00:29:40.160
Got it.
00:29:40.160 --> 00:29:47.519
So once the envelope that has the identifiable information is separated from the ballot, the ballot itself has no identifiable information.
00:29:47.519 --> 00:29:47.839
Correct.
00:29:47.839 --> 00:29:48.400
That's correct.
00:29:48.400 --> 00:29:48.960
Okay.
00:29:48.960 --> 00:29:51.599
And the ballot is then moves on to be counted.
00:29:51.599 --> 00:29:52.319
It does, yeah.
00:29:52.319 --> 00:29:52.880
Correct.
00:29:52.880 --> 00:29:54.400
And how is it counted?
00:29:54.720 --> 00:29:57.359
Well, all of those ballots are counted in our office, which is great.
00:29:57.359 --> 00:29:58.559
It's set we're central count.
00:29:58.559 --> 00:30:00.000
Not every county is set up that way.
00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:00.319
Okay.
00:30:00.319 --> 00:30:05.279
Sometimes they're being counted out at the polling places, and then the information is being brought back to headquarters.
00:30:05.279 --> 00:30:05.680
Okay.
00:30:05.680 --> 00:30:08.880
But all of our ballots go through the tabulators in our in our building.
00:30:09.119 --> 00:30:09.279
Okay.
00:30:09.519 --> 00:30:11.119
So it goes through the tabulator.
00:30:11.119 --> 00:30:13.119
Uh the machine is going to read that ballot.
00:30:13.119 --> 00:30:28.480
And then if there's any question that the machine has about how that ballot's being counted, uh, let's say there's extraneous marks on the page, or they erased a mark and didn't quite erase it all the way, scribbled something out, uh any other extraneous marks, uh, the machine will kick that ballot to the side.
00:30:28.480 --> 00:30:28.640
Okay.
00:30:28.640 --> 00:30:30.640
And a team of two people will review it.
00:30:30.640 --> 00:30:31.039
Okay.
00:30:31.039 --> 00:30:36.079
And what we're reviewing it for is to make sure that the voter intent is uh maintained through the process.
00:30:36.079 --> 00:30:36.319
Okay.
00:30:36.319 --> 00:30:45.680
So if it was a write-in vote, something that the computer can't read, or like I said, if a voter crosses something out, it it's very clear to humanize what that vote should have been, right?
00:30:45.680 --> 00:30:48.720
If it's been crossed out and there's a uh another bubble filled in.
00:30:48.720 --> 00:30:51.039
Uh so that team of two reviews those.
00:30:51.039 --> 00:30:53.839
Uh it's an adjudication process, is what that's called.
00:30:53.839 --> 00:30:57.680
Uh, and that's for all the ballots that are that are whole when they come in.
00:30:57.680 --> 00:31:00.079
They're not torn or ripped or anything like that.
00:31:00.079 --> 00:31:08.000
Uh, but it does happen where a ballot can come in and it's been damaged in the mail or it's gotten wet and it won't go through the tabulators.
00:31:08.000 --> 00:31:10.960
Uh, what we'll do with those ones is we actually duplicate those ballots.
00:31:11.200 --> 00:31:12.720
So you don't photocopy them.
00:31:12.960 --> 00:31:15.519
Uh well we we hand copy them over to a fresh ballot.
00:31:15.519 --> 00:31:16.160
Oh, okay.
00:31:16.160 --> 00:31:24.000
So the original that it was damaged gets serialized and voided, and then it's matched over to a fresh copy that can go through the tabulators.
00:31:24.000 --> 00:31:24.240
Okay.
00:31:24.240 --> 00:31:30.559
So that gives voters the confidence of, you know, just because their ballot gets scuffed in the mail, it's not going to invalidate their vote.
00:31:30.559 --> 00:31:32.640
We're we're going to save those and make sure they get counted as well.
00:31:32.960 --> 00:31:33.200
Okay.
00:31:33.200 --> 00:31:33.839
All right.
00:31:33.839 --> 00:31:35.599
So let me let me go through that a little bit.
00:31:35.599 --> 00:31:40.799
So the ballots that are going through the tabulator is a machine?
00:31:40.799 --> 00:31:41.200
Yeah.
00:31:41.200 --> 00:31:43.599
Like a the like a scanTron machine, right?
00:31:43.599 --> 00:31:44.880
It's reading the bubble.
00:31:45.279 --> 00:31:45.759
Basically a scanner.
00:31:45.759 --> 00:31:46.160
Yeah.
00:31:46.319 --> 00:31:46.880
Okay, got it.
00:31:46.880 --> 00:31:56.000
And if there's no problem with the ballot, it goes through and the machine uh credits the vote to whoever got it.
00:31:56.000 --> 00:31:56.240
Trevor Burrus, Jr.
00:31:56.319 --> 00:31:58.240
Yeah, plus one to this candidate, plus one to that candidate.
00:31:58.240 --> 00:31:58.559
That's right.
00:31:58.880 --> 00:31:58.960
Okay.
00:31:58.960 --> 00:32:04.000
Does do those ballots ever get rechecked by humans?
00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:04.240
Aaron Ross Powell, Jr.
00:32:04.400 --> 00:32:04.640
They do.
00:32:04.640 --> 00:32:05.039
Okay.
00:32:05.039 --> 00:32:05.440
Yep.
00:32:05.440 --> 00:32:07.519
After every election, we do a manual audit.
00:32:07.519 --> 00:32:07.759
Okay.
00:32:07.759 --> 00:32:12.880
So what we do is we will randomly select one percent of batches, at least one percent of batches, I should say.
00:32:12.880 --> 00:32:22.160
And what we're looking for is to make sure that not only are we checking one percent of the ballots manually, but that we're checking ballots that contain every contest in the election.
00:32:22.240 --> 00:32:23.119
Aaron Powell Because they're all different.
00:32:23.119 --> 00:32:23.680
They're all different.
00:32:23.680 --> 00:32:24.480
All the ballots are different.
00:32:24.480 --> 00:32:24.799
Yeah.
00:32:24.960 --> 00:32:31.599
So we need to make sure that that small school district that we're we're checking those ones too to make sure that that they're being tabulated correctly from president all the way down.
00:32:31.599 --> 00:32:32.000
Okay.
00:32:32.000 --> 00:32:38.480
So we are checking those uh by hand, okay, human eyes, okay, and making sure that they match what the computer gave us.
00:32:38.480 --> 00:32:42.960
We are not just trusting that the computers are are programmed correctly and know what they're doing, right?
00:32:42.960 --> 00:32:43.440
Got it.
00:32:43.440 --> 00:32:45.279
We want to make sure that they work accurately.
00:32:45.279 --> 00:32:47.759
And and that process starts well before the election.
00:32:48.000 --> 00:32:48.240
Okay.
00:32:48.400 --> 00:32:51.759
Uh the machines are go through what's called logic and accuracy testing, okay.
00:32:51.759 --> 00:32:56.000
Which is a joint kind of venture between my staff and actually the grand jury.
00:32:56.000 --> 00:33:08.480
So the grand jury will send us a Democrat, a Republican, and then a third person, whoever that may be, and those that panel of three people joins my staff and we test the machines before every election to make sure they're working properly.
00:33:08.559 --> 00:33:08.720
Okay.
00:33:08.880 --> 00:33:11.440
And then they're uh verified at the end with that manual audit.
00:33:11.759 --> 00:33:12.000
Okay.
00:33:12.000 --> 00:33:26.480
So I want to go back to this whole uh the uh as it goes through um so the ballot must if you're checking one percent, meaning you're pulling a ballot has been scanned, right?
00:33:26.480 --> 00:33:32.880
And you look at the ballot and you go, okay, did the machine count the ballot the way it was supposed to count?
00:33:32.880 --> 00:33:33.440
That's right.
00:33:33.440 --> 00:33:33.680
Right.
00:33:33.680 --> 00:33:42.720
So there's some you there must be some way to identify that ballot with uh the data that was recorded by the machine.
00:33:42.960 --> 00:33:44.240
Yeah, and they're it's done in batches.
00:33:44.240 --> 00:33:44.720
Okay.
00:33:44.720 --> 00:33:48.240
So what we'll do is we'll pull effectively one percent of the batches.
00:33:48.240 --> 00:33:48.720
Okay.
00:33:48.720 --> 00:33:54.160
Uh ballots go through the scanners in batches of anywhere from uh it could be anything up to 200.
00:33:54.160 --> 00:33:54.559
Okay.
00:33:54.559 --> 00:33:58.160
So and then that batch has a number associated with it.
00:33:58.160 --> 00:34:02.720
So when we do a randomized sample, we'll we'll go get batch two fifty.
00:34:02.720 --> 00:34:03.440
I understand.
00:34:03.440 --> 00:34:06.720
And then we'll count every ballot in that batch by hand to make sure it matches.
00:34:06.720 --> 00:34:10.000
And then compare it to the batch two fifty results that the computer has.
00:34:10.320 --> 00:34:13.760
So it's so the ballot itself is not identifiable.
00:34:13.760 --> 00:34:14.400
Correct.
00:34:14.400 --> 00:34:15.440
It's the batch.
00:34:15.440 --> 00:34:18.239
You make sure the batch was counted correctly.
00:34:18.239 --> 00:34:18.880
That's right.
00:34:18.880 --> 00:34:20.880
Not the individual ballot, so to speak.
00:34:21.199 --> 00:34:21.360
Correct.
00:34:21.360 --> 00:34:21.519
Okay.
00:34:21.519 --> 00:34:24.239
The accumulation of the individual ballot gives you the total.
00:34:24.719 --> 00:34:33.280
Again, which should cause reassure people that once the ballot is separated from the envelope, there's no way to tie a person back to that ballot.
00:34:33.679 --> 00:34:33.920
That's right.
00:34:33.920 --> 00:34:35.679
And I know that some voters wish that we could.
00:34:35.679 --> 00:34:39.760
You know, they want to they want to call our office and say, how do I know my ballot got out got counted correctly?
00:34:39.760 --> 00:34:42.320
Tell me who I voted for and prove it to me.
00:34:42.320 --> 00:34:46.320
Well, I can't do that, but I can tell you that we checked 1% of the batches.
00:34:46.320 --> 00:34:50.239
And if your ballot was in one of those, we know that yours was counted accurately.
00:34:50.239 --> 00:34:56.079
But um, you know, it it's a really important thing for the government to not know who who you're voting for.
00:34:56.079 --> 00:34:56.559
For sure.
00:34:56.559 --> 00:34:58.320
So it it's really a voter protection.
00:34:58.320 --> 00:34:59.840
It's not us trying to hide it from you.
00:34:59.840 --> 00:35:02.400
It's that we we can't know and we don't know.
00:35:02.480 --> 00:35:04.239
Aaron Powell, yeah, that's yeah, I think that's an important thing.
00:35:04.239 --> 00:35:12.559
And you know, the the way the world is today, uh I think we want people to be feel secure that uh they can vote for they want, and no one's gonna hold that against them.
00:35:12.639 --> 00:35:13.199
Aaron Powell That's right.
00:35:13.199 --> 00:35:13.440
Yeah.
00:35:13.440 --> 00:35:16.639
We want people to be uh able to participate free of intimidation.
00:35:16.960 --> 00:35:17.360
Yeah.
00:35:17.360 --> 00:35:25.519
So um how uh do you ever find that there's an error uh in the uh batch that you run?
00:35:25.599 --> 00:35:26.639
Aaron Ross Powell We haven't found one yet.
00:35:26.639 --> 00:35:27.360
You haven't found one?
00:35:27.360 --> 00:35:29.840
No, we've been using our current system since 2018.
00:35:29.840 --> 00:35:30.239
Okay.
00:35:30.239 --> 00:35:33.360
And uh it's passed 100 percent every time every time we've done one of those.
00:35:33.360 --> 00:35:37.679
Yeah, it passes logic and accuracy testing and it passes the the manual audit after every election.
00:35:38.000 --> 00:35:38.400
Got it.
00:35:38.400 --> 00:35:45.840
All right, so let's go back to the ballots that get kicked out because there's um uh a mark on them or they're or they're somehow damaged.
00:35:45.840 --> 00:35:47.280
And I want to talk about the ones that are marked.
00:35:47.280 --> 00:35:59.119
So um so if I uh I'm envisioning where uh okay, I think I want to vote for this guy, so I fill out the dot, and then uh I think about it, no, I don't like that guy, so I I put an X through it and then I vote for the the other guy.
00:35:59.280 --> 00:35:59.599
Yeah.
00:35:59.760 --> 00:36:07.519
Uh that's the kind of thing that you're gonna look at it and go, a human being can look at it and go, oh, well, clearly the X means he doesn't like that guy anymore, so he wants to go for this guy.
00:36:07.519 --> 00:36:09.599
And that's how you determine voter intent, is that correct?
00:36:09.840 --> 00:36:10.079
That's right.
00:36:10.239 --> 00:36:10.400
Okay.
00:36:10.559 --> 00:36:12.880
Yeah, and that's actually the instruction we'd give to voters too.
00:36:12.880 --> 00:36:13.119
Right.
00:36:13.119 --> 00:36:16.800
So if they're at home and they start filling out their ballot and they go, Oh, I made a mistake.
00:36:16.800 --> 00:36:18.880
I meant to vote for Joe instead of John.
00:36:18.880 --> 00:36:19.519
Yeah.
00:36:19.519 --> 00:36:30.960
Uh they could uh if they filled in the incorrect bubble and they've used blue or black ink like they're supposed to be filling in their ballots out with blue or black ink, uh, what they can do is just draw a single line through the incorrect candidate.
00:36:30.960 --> 00:36:43.840
Okay, mark the correct candidate, and because there are now two ovals filled in, it's going to go through that process where it's going to get kicked out and reviewed, and then it's gonna be very clear to the the ballot reviewers that one's been crossed out, we'll count it for the second.
00:36:44.239 --> 00:36:45.360
And two people are gonna verify that.
00:36:45.360 --> 00:36:45.840
That's right.
00:36:45.840 --> 00:36:46.800
What if they disagree?
00:36:47.199 --> 00:36:48.320
Well, we have we have a third person.
00:36:48.320 --> 00:36:48.559
Okay.
00:36:48.559 --> 00:36:50.800
There's always a supervisor to work on that.
00:36:50.800 --> 00:36:53.280
Yeah, and that's why there's two people looking at them.
00:36:53.280 --> 00:36:53.760
Yeah, okay.
00:36:53.760 --> 00:36:57.280
And really what we want to know is how did that voter vote?
00:36:57.519 --> 00:36:57.679
Okay.
00:36:58.079 --> 00:37:03.119
Now, if a voter's made a complete mess of this ballot and we really can't determine it, we're it's gonna not count at all.
00:37:03.199 --> 00:37:08.159
Aaron Powell And there's no way to go back and uh contact that voter because you've separated them from the envelope.
00:37:08.159 --> 00:37:09.039
We don't know who it is.
00:37:09.039 --> 00:37:09.599
Yeah, exactly.
00:37:09.599 --> 00:37:09.840
Okay.
00:37:09.840 --> 00:37:10.239
Yeah.
00:37:10.239 --> 00:37:10.800
All right.
00:37:10.800 --> 00:37:14.880
Well, there's there's a need for some personal responsibility on the part of everybody.
00:37:14.880 --> 00:37:15.679
So yeah, yeah.
00:37:15.679 --> 00:37:15.920
Trevor Burrus, Jr.
00:37:16.000 --> 00:37:18.639
We do the best we can to explain the process of voters.
00:37:18.639 --> 00:37:22.079
And uh yeah, if you can fill out the bubble, your your vote's gonna be counted.
00:37:22.079 --> 00:37:26.079
And we really do everything we can to make sure that voter intent is verified.
00:37:26.079 --> 00:37:27.280
But what we're not gonna do is guess.
00:37:27.280 --> 00:37:27.920
Yeah, I'm sure.
00:37:27.920 --> 00:37:30.239
If if we're in a spot where we have to guess, it's it's not gonna count.
00:37:30.559 --> 00:37:33.679
So let's talk about the ballots that were chewed up in the mail, right?
00:37:33.679 --> 00:37:33.920
Yeah.
00:37:33.920 --> 00:37:35.039
And you can't send them through.
00:37:35.039 --> 00:37:41.199
And you said that there's somebody who sits down and looks at it and goes, okay, they voted for John Smith, I'm gonna vote for John Smith.
00:37:41.199 --> 00:37:44.239
They voted for, you know, Sue Brown, I'm gonna vote for Sue Brown.
00:37:44.239 --> 00:37:44.960
That's how that works.
00:37:45.280 --> 00:37:45.760
Team of two people.
00:37:45.760 --> 00:37:47.599
So you're doing that as well.
00:37:47.760 --> 00:37:51.440
So you can't have somebody who goes, Oh, I really want this guy, and I'm gonna uh I'm gonna absolutely not.
00:37:52.239 --> 00:37:56.639
And even if a team of two people were to make a mistake, the ballots are serialized.
00:37:56.639 --> 00:38:02.159
So they there's a serial number now on the uh the replacement ballot and the original one.
00:38:02.159 --> 00:38:02.480
Okay.
00:38:02.480 --> 00:38:10.480
So if ever there was a recount or an audit, we can take that new duplicated ballot and compare it back to the original one and make sure that it was correct.
00:38:13.280 --> 00:38:13.519
That's right.
00:38:13.519 --> 00:38:16.559
But I still you still can't determine who the original voter was.
00:38:16.559 --> 00:38:17.119
Correct.
00:38:17.440 --> 00:38:25.039
Because you've separated them from the voters can see that when they pull out their ballot, turn it over front and back, your name's not on there, your address isn't on there.
00:38:25.039 --> 00:38:27.920
Uh the only identifying marks on there are the precinct number.
00:38:27.920 --> 00:38:28.159
Okay.
00:38:28.159 --> 00:38:30.079
So all we know is what neighborhood it came from.
00:38:30.320 --> 00:38:30.880
Yeah, okay.
00:38:31.119 --> 00:38:31.280
Okay.
00:38:31.519 --> 00:38:31.760
Yeah.
00:38:32.079 --> 00:38:32.639
All right.
00:38:32.639 --> 00:38:33.840
Okay.
00:38:33.840 --> 00:38:51.440
So uh if you've cured the ballot uh through the signature process, or you've um you've uh determined the voter intent if there's some additional markings, or you've created a new ballot based on what you see, then all that ultimately gets tabulated, right?
00:38:51.440 --> 00:38:56.159
And determined uh uh determine the outcome of the of the various elections.
00:38:56.159 --> 00:39:02.719
And so um is that all electronic uh other than the the uh audit that you do, the 1% audit?
00:39:03.199 --> 00:39:06.239
Well, uh uh so now we're talking about election night reporting or when the results are coming out.
00:39:06.239 --> 00:39:06.880
Yeah, okay, yeah.
00:39:06.880 --> 00:39:07.360
Yeah.
00:39:07.599 --> 00:39:08.639
So did I miss a step?
00:39:08.639 --> 00:39:09.920
Have I missed a step in the process?
00:39:10.239 --> 00:39:16.559
No, but but we're going from the ballots are being counted to the results coming out and and knowing that the results are accurate and how we reach those.
00:39:16.559 --> 00:39:22.239
So this entire system that the ballots are being processed and counted in is offline.
00:39:22.239 --> 00:39:23.119
Offline.
00:39:23.119 --> 00:39:25.039
It's not connected to the internet in any way.
00:39:25.039 --> 00:39:25.280
Trevor Burrus, Jr.
00:39:25.360 --> 00:39:25.440
Right.
00:39:25.440 --> 00:39:30.719
So somebody from Iran ha hacking in to change the election can't happen.
00:39:30.719 --> 00:39:32.000
Can't happen because it's not hooked up.
00:39:32.239 --> 00:39:32.480
That's right.
00:39:32.480 --> 00:39:34.320
Not connected to the Internet.
00:39:34.320 --> 00:39:38.800
Uh which poses a challenge for us on election night when we're trying to report those results to the public.
00:39:39.119 --> 00:39:39.280
Correct.
00:39:39.519 --> 00:39:40.880
But the system's completely offline.
00:39:40.880 --> 00:39:41.760
So how do you do that?
00:39:42.079 --> 00:39:42.639
Yeah, how do you do that?
00:39:43.039 --> 00:39:47.199
We have to print it out, carry it upstairs, and then type it back into another computer.
00:39:47.599 --> 00:39:47.760
Okay.
00:39:48.079 --> 00:39:49.840
So uh and that's how we report to the state.
00:39:49.840 --> 00:39:50.239
Okay.
00:39:50.239 --> 00:40:05.280
So uh a team of, again, two people are uh going through those printed uh documents, typing them into a portal that we have with the Secretary of State to give the results to them, and then they will call us and read them back to us to make sure that they're accurate.
00:40:05.280 --> 00:40:11.280
And then we used to then fax the original that we had printed out to them so they would have a hard copy of it as well.
00:40:11.280 --> 00:40:13.280
Secretary of State.
00:40:13.280 --> 00:40:13.679
Okay.
00:40:13.679 --> 00:40:14.000
Yep.
00:40:14.000 --> 00:40:14.239
Okay.
00:40:14.239 --> 00:40:22.400
Uh and uh and so that process takes place on election night, and and we can't go home until they have the results and that that that they've been verified.
00:40:22.400 --> 00:40:22.719
Okay.
00:40:22.719 --> 00:40:24.559
So it makes for a long election night for us.
00:40:24.559 --> 00:40:27.519
You know, the first wave of results comes out at just after 8 p.m.
00:40:27.519 --> 00:40:31.760
And then we are generally not done until about two in the morning.
00:40:31.760 --> 00:40:32.159
Okay.
00:40:32.159 --> 00:40:34.480
Uh on on Wednesday morning at that at that point.
00:40:34.880 --> 00:40:35.199
Right.
00:40:35.519 --> 00:40:38.559
And so and so that's how the process works for uh reporting.
00:40:38.559 --> 00:40:41.039
Uh we're also uploading a copy of that to our website.
00:40:41.039 --> 00:40:43.199
So if voters want to see the results.
00:40:43.199 --> 00:40:59.119
Now, the cool thing about the way vote by mail works is that we can get more results earlier on in the night because all of the ballots that we receive prior to election day are in that first wave of election results that comes out at, say, 805, 810 right after the polls close.
00:40:59.119 --> 00:41:02.239
Because we can count those ballots as soon as we get them back.
00:41:02.239 --> 00:41:02.639
Okay.
00:41:02.639 --> 00:41:08.639
So we are verifying signatures and we are counting ballots all the way up to election day during the whole early voting period.
00:41:08.880 --> 00:41:13.280
So if voters So if I vote three weeks early, you count my ballot on the day that I turn it into you?
00:41:13.599 --> 00:41:18.000
As soon as we can get the signature verified and that you're eligible to be counted.
00:41:18.000 --> 00:41:18.400
Okay.
00:41:18.400 --> 00:41:19.840
Uh and then so we have those.
00:41:19.840 --> 00:41:26.960
So if voters want to see more complete results sooner, I mean we could have basically 100% results if you turn your ballot in early.
00:41:29.840 --> 00:41:33.119
But we still have the 22-day uh rule to cure, right?
00:41:33.119 --> 00:41:33.599
That's right.
00:41:33.679 --> 00:41:36.480
And nobody and this is a hypothetical, nobody's gonna forget to sign it.
00:41:36.480 --> 00:41:36.800
Yeah, exactly.
00:41:36.800 --> 00:41:38.159
Everybody's signatures are gonna verify.
00:41:38.159 --> 00:41:42.800
But the idea is if you want more complete election results sooner, vote early.
00:41:43.199 --> 00:41:43.519
Sure.
00:41:43.519 --> 00:41:44.159
Sure.
00:41:44.159 --> 00:42:04.559
So uh how that brings up the whole uh concern about, well, um how do you maintain the secrecy of what the vote is trending towards in the days and weeks leading up to the actual election day?
00:42:04.559 --> 00:42:10.800
Because as you know, that data can be very valuable to candidates, but it also could sway elections, right?
00:42:10.800 --> 00:42:13.440
Because if people said, well, what's the point of me voting?
00:42:13.440 --> 00:42:15.599
The the the the guy has already won.
00:42:15.599 --> 00:42:15.920
Right.
00:42:15.920 --> 00:42:17.039
You see what I'm saying?
00:42:17.199 --> 00:42:22.239
Yeah, and that's and that's why you don't we don't release those results until 805 or a little bit after the polls close.
00:42:22.239 --> 00:42:23.599
And we don't even know what the what they do.
00:42:23.599 --> 00:42:24.320
So you don't even know about them.
00:42:24.320 --> 00:42:24.960
I have no idea.
00:42:24.960 --> 00:42:25.360
Okay.
00:42:25.360 --> 00:42:29.440
And uh you know, we're running through ballots through, we're seeing every ballot.
00:42:29.440 --> 00:42:34.559
But there's sixty to a hundred and five thousand ballots, there's no way we have any idea of what the actual aggregate is.
00:42:34.559 --> 00:42:34.960
Yeah.
00:42:34.960 --> 00:42:36.639
Um we just know that votes are being cast.
00:42:36.639 --> 00:42:37.039
Okay.
00:42:37.039 --> 00:42:44.000
And and I've actually had the funny scenario before of, you know, getting done on election night, going home, and and my wife asking me, hey, who won?
00:42:44.000 --> 00:42:45.440
I I don't know, actually.
00:42:45.440 --> 00:42:47.119
I well uh that's that's not what I'm worried about.
00:42:47.119 --> 00:42:53.679
I'm making sure that the votes are being counted accurately, but who wins and loses isn't the top of my mind uh when we're trying to administer an election.
00:42:53.920 --> 00:42:54.000
Right.
00:42:54.000 --> 00:42:55.679
No, that makes that makes good sense, exactly.
00:42:55.679 --> 00:42:56.000
Right.
00:42:56.000 --> 00:43:00.559
It's the the last uh the last thing to consider as long as it was all fair fairly done.
00:43:00.559 --> 00:43:00.800
Trevor Burrus, Jr.
00:43:00.880 --> 00:43:01.199
That's right.
00:43:01.199 --> 00:43:09.039
As long as I know that all the procedures are being taken, you know, taking place, everything everything's working properly, who wins and loses obviously affects me as a voter, but as an administrator.
00:43:09.280 --> 00:43:09.440
Yeah.
00:43:09.440 --> 00:43:10.320
Yeah.
00:43:10.320 --> 00:43:10.880
Okay.
00:43:10.880 --> 00:43:11.760
All right.
00:43:11.760 --> 00:43:26.480
So if uh you you count them as you receive them and verify them, um and uh that first wave of results that comes in around eight o'clock is generally speaking going to be all the people who voted early.
00:43:26.480 --> 00:43:26.800
Is that correct?
00:43:26.800 --> 00:43:27.280
That's right.
00:43:27.280 --> 00:43:27.840
Yeah, okay.
00:43:28.000 --> 00:43:29.599
Yeah, and it's exclusively gonna be that.
00:43:29.599 --> 00:43:29.920
Okay.
00:43:29.920 --> 00:43:35.599
Because if you think about it, if you've dropped your ballot off on the day of, it's still in that building across the county.
00:43:35.599 --> 00:43:35.920
Right.
00:43:35.920 --> 00:43:36.239
Right?
00:43:36.239 --> 00:43:37.199
We we don't have it yet.
00:43:37.199 --> 00:43:37.679
Right.
00:43:37.679 --> 00:43:42.559
Uh so you know, yeah, as we get those in, we we try to get as many of those counted on election night.
00:43:42.559 --> 00:43:49.440
Um, but generally, if you're dropping it off at eight o'clock in a ballot drop box, it's not gonna be counted until the next day.
00:43:49.440 --> 00:43:52.800
We we just can't physically get them back and and validate it and and count it in time.
00:43:53.119 --> 00:43:53.920
Yeah, that makes sense.
00:43:53.920 --> 00:43:58.159
Uh how many ballot drop boxes do you have to put out in Butte County?
00:43:58.480 --> 00:44:01.119
Uh well, so we have uh I believe it's twelve or thirteen.
00:44:01.119 --> 00:44:01.519
Oh, okay.
00:44:01.519 --> 00:44:03.280
And don't quote me on that, but there's quite a few of them.
00:44:03.519 --> 00:44:03.679
Okay.
00:44:03.840 --> 00:44:07.199
Uh we actually have a situation this election where some of them are going to be moved.
00:44:07.199 --> 00:44:10.079
Generally they're at libraries, city halls, places like that.
00:44:10.079 --> 00:44:12.320
And as we know, the libraries are being renovated right now.
00:44:12.320 --> 00:44:12.639
Correct.
00:44:12.639 --> 00:44:14.880
So we do have new homes for two of our draw boxes.
00:44:15.199 --> 00:44:15.679
Uh where are they?
00:44:16.159 --> 00:44:19.920
So the the new ones for the Chico Library, that's going to be moved over to the Mangrove Plaza.
00:44:19.920 --> 00:44:24.239
So it's going to be in that parking lot, which is Loch Amita round table right across the street from the cemetery.
00:44:24.480 --> 00:44:24.719
Got it.
00:44:24.719 --> 00:44:24.880
Okay.
00:44:25.360 --> 00:44:26.880
And then the other one is going to be here in Oroville.
00:44:26.880 --> 00:44:28.480
Oroville Library is also being renovated.
00:44:28.480 --> 00:44:28.719
Right.
00:44:28.719 --> 00:44:32.159
So that's going to be in the Rayleigh's parking lot, is where we're moving that box to.
00:44:32.159 --> 00:44:32.480
Okay.
00:44:32.480 --> 00:44:34.000
Now those are very popular boxes.
00:44:34.000 --> 00:44:37.280
We're talking tens of thousands of ballots put in those every election.
00:44:37.280 --> 00:44:41.599
Uh so voters will want to know where those new ones are if that's where they like to drop off their ballot.
00:44:41.920 --> 00:44:42.159
Okay.
00:44:42.159 --> 00:44:50.559
And so uh how long are all of those ballots, all of those 13 sum ballot boxes, do you collect the ballots out of them?
00:44:50.559 --> 00:44:54.000
Um you you do that on an ongoing basis, right?
00:44:54.000 --> 00:44:58.480
So if I yeah if I drop it off three weeks ahead of time, how how frequently are you checking those boxes?
00:44:58.800 --> 00:44:59.280
Frequently.
00:44:59.280 --> 00:44:59.679
Okay.
00:44:59.679 --> 00:45:04.320
Uh I'm not going to give out our collection schedule or anything like that, but uh they are collected frequently.
00:45:04.320 --> 00:45:04.480
Okay.
00:45:04.480 --> 00:45:07.599
And they are collected by teams of two, again with our ballot rule.
00:45:07.599 --> 00:45:10.000
Every every ballot's got a team of two people looking at it.
00:45:10.000 --> 00:45:13.360
And they are actually the VIPS programs, which is the volunteers and police service.
00:45:13.360 --> 00:45:13.599
Yeah.
00:45:13.599 --> 00:45:21.599
So they go out in their squad cars, teams of two people to collect those ballots and make sure they're getting back to us um, you know, safely and securely.
00:45:21.599 --> 00:45:26.079
And we have um uh chain of custody forms on all those ballots that are going out.
00:45:26.079 --> 00:45:31.760
The bags that go out empty, the bags that come back in with ballots in them to make sure that we can get those those processed.
00:45:32.079 --> 00:45:38.880
And so on the night the election day, election night, um are they are they being collected that night?
00:45:39.360 --> 00:45:39.679
They are.
00:45:39.679 --> 00:45:40.079
Okay.
00:45:40.079 --> 00:45:40.480
Yeah.
00:45:40.480 --> 00:45:45.440
So we actually have to have, again, team of two people at every ballot drop box that we have at 8 p.m.
00:45:45.440 --> 00:45:45.760
Okay.
00:45:45.760 --> 00:45:46.400
To close it.
00:45:46.559 --> 00:45:49.679
Because the election is you don't want anybody putting anything in there afterwards, right?
00:45:49.679 --> 00:45:50.159
That's right.
00:45:50.159 --> 00:45:50.400
Okay.
00:45:50.639 --> 00:45:56.400
So they they lock the boxes, okay, remove the ballots, put them in those secure bags, and then bring them back to our office uh to be counted.
00:45:56.400 --> 00:45:56.639
Okay.
00:45:56.639 --> 00:46:02.239
So that way we we know it's empty when we leave, and that way we you know come back the next day and it's still gonna be empty because we sealed it.
00:46:02.239 --> 00:46:02.480
Okay.
00:46:02.480 --> 00:46:03.840
It's it's locked and closed.
00:46:03.840 --> 00:46:04.159
Okay.
00:46:04.159 --> 00:46:06.239
So uh anybody who shows up after 8 p.m.
00:46:06.239 --> 00:46:08.480
on election day, uh election day, you you're too late.
00:46:08.480 --> 00:46:10.159
You're not gonna be able to cast a ballot in that election.
00:46:10.559 --> 00:46:12.239
But that's not the only way you get ballots, right?
00:46:12.239 --> 00:46:13.119
You also get them through the mail.
00:46:13.119 --> 00:46:13.760
We do.
00:46:13.760 --> 00:46:14.159
Yep.
00:46:14.159 --> 00:46:18.960
Uh and uh on election day, a mail probably doesn't run at 8 p.m., right?
00:46:19.280 --> 00:46:19.840
No, it doesn't.
00:46:19.840 --> 00:46:25.679
And that's where uh you know if a voter is wanting to vote by mail, perfectly safe way to get it back to us.
00:46:25.679 --> 00:46:25.920
Yeah.
00:46:25.920 --> 00:46:27.840
But they need to keep the time frames in mind.
00:46:28.159 --> 00:46:28.719
Okay, explain that.
00:46:29.039 --> 00:46:31.840
Because a ballot has to be postmarked on or before election day.
00:46:31.840 --> 00:46:32.000
Okay.
00:46:32.000 --> 00:46:32.960
Uh to be counted.
00:46:32.960 --> 00:46:33.360
Okay.
00:46:33.360 --> 00:46:37.199
Now, if it's postmarked on or before election day, we can receive it up to seven days later.
00:46:37.199 --> 00:46:37.440
Okay.
00:46:37.440 --> 00:46:41.840
Got it.
00:46:41.840 --> 00:46:49.119
Uh but USPS rules have changed uh in the last couple of years so that the way that postmarks are applied has changed.
00:46:49.119 --> 00:46:49.440
Okay.
00:46:49.440 --> 00:46:52.079
It's not being applied the day you put it in a box.
00:46:52.079 --> 00:46:52.400
Okay.
00:46:52.400 --> 00:46:56.480
It's being applied the day that Sacramento gets it and they apply the postmarks there.
00:46:57.440 --> 00:46:59.039
The majority of our mail goes to Sacramento, correct?
00:46:59.280 --> 00:46:59.599
It does, yeah.
00:46:59.599 --> 00:47:01.840
For Butte County, it all it's all going through Sacramento.
00:47:01.840 --> 00:47:12.559
So you not only need to worry about the collection times on the box you're putting it in to make sure that's being collected on time, you also need to take into account that it's probably going to take an extra day to get it to Sacramento.
00:47:12.559 --> 00:47:18.000
So if you are still holding your ballot on Monday or Tuesday of the election, you shouldn't be mailing it at that point.
00:47:18.000 --> 00:47:21.199
You should be using one of those ballot drop boxes or the voter assistance centers.
00:47:21.679 --> 00:47:21.920
Okay.
00:47:21.920 --> 00:47:28.000
So if I uh on election day, if I run down to a blue mailbox at 7 59 p.m.
00:47:28.239 --> 00:47:33.280
and drop it in, chances are that that's that ballot's not going to be postmarked and received on time.
00:47:33.280 --> 00:47:33.840
Exactly.
00:47:33.840 --> 00:47:34.239
Yeah.
00:47:34.239 --> 00:47:42.800
If you do find yourself in a post office on election day, you can take it into the counter and have the clerk at the post office put a stamp on it, one of those round stamps.
00:47:42.800 --> 00:47:43.039
Okay.
00:47:43.039 --> 00:47:48.559
Uh and that would be sufficient, but you're not going to be able to put it in one of those blue boxes with the eagle on it and have it get there in time.
00:47:48.559 --> 00:47:50.559
You want to look for our official ballot drop boxes.
00:47:50.559 --> 00:47:51.119
Okay.
00:47:51.199 --> 00:47:54.000
So they have to be postmarked no later than election day.
00:47:54.000 --> 00:47:54.800
Correct.
00:47:54.800 --> 00:47:55.280
Okay.
00:47:55.280 --> 00:47:55.679
Yep.
00:47:55.679 --> 00:48:00.639
If it's if it's postmarked on election day or before, it can be counted.
00:48:00.639 --> 00:48:01.039
Correct.
00:48:01.039 --> 00:48:04.320
And it can take up to seven days for you to actually get the ballot.
00:48:04.880 --> 00:48:06.239
We can receive it up to seven days.
00:48:06.239 --> 00:48:08.159
So usually we're getting these back in two days.
00:48:08.559 --> 00:48:08.880
Understand that.
00:48:08.880 --> 00:48:10.159
So I want to understand that.
00:48:10.159 --> 00:48:28.000
So let's say for some reason you know, I I put it in in plenty of time, it goes to Sacramento, it gets postmarked before election day, but along the way it falls into a crack, and then uh two months later, somebody finds it and sends it over to you.
00:48:28.000 --> 00:48:28.880
Does it get counted?
00:48:29.199 --> 00:48:30.320
No, that's gonna be too late to be counted.
00:48:30.320 --> 00:48:32.159
That's right.
00:48:32.159 --> 00:48:35.199
And the election is gonna be certified by that point and there's no going back.
00:48:35.199 --> 00:48:35.679
Got it.
00:48:35.679 --> 00:48:36.480
At that point.
00:48:36.480 --> 00:48:36.800
Okay.
00:48:36.800 --> 00:48:38.079
Now that is extremely rare.
00:48:38.079 --> 00:48:38.960
I g I get okay.
00:48:38.960 --> 00:48:39.840
Uh it does happen.
00:48:39.840 --> 00:48:41.440
You know, post office isn't perfect.
00:48:41.440 --> 00:48:41.920
Sure.
00:48:41.920 --> 00:48:47.440
Uh but uh yeah, unfortunately, the seven days are there, but we've got to finish this election at some point.
00:48:47.440 --> 00:48:50.320
We can we can't have that deadline last indefinitely.
00:48:50.320 --> 00:48:52.880
Um and the public doesn't want that either, right?
00:48:52.880 --> 00:48:55.679
They want they want the elections to be finalized, they want the results, and we've seen that on the case.
00:48:56.480 --> 00:48:57.039
We want them that night.
00:48:57.039 --> 00:48:57.199
Yeah.
00:48:57.199 --> 00:48:57.920
We want them that night.
00:48:57.920 --> 00:48:58.639
We want them sooner.
00:48:58.639 --> 00:48:59.119
Yeah, exactly.
00:48:59.519 --> 00:49:03.360
But but the seven days is there, and that that's the intent is to uh give that time.
00:49:03.360 --> 00:49:08.639
That used to be a a plus three deadline where it had to be there within three days, but it's been extended to seven.
00:49:08.639 --> 00:49:09.039
Okay.
00:49:09.039 --> 00:49:10.400
That's that's a California law.
00:49:10.400 --> 00:49:12.719
Call your legislators in Sacramento if you want to talk about that.
00:49:13.920 --> 00:49:21.280
So the the rule on voting by mail is it has to be postmarked on election day or earlier, and it has to be received within seven days of the election.
00:49:21.280 --> 00:49:22.000
That's right.
00:49:22.000 --> 00:49:24.800
Those two parameters have to be and then it can be counted.
00:49:24.800 --> 00:49:25.199
Yes.
00:49:25.199 --> 00:49:25.679
Okay.
00:49:25.679 --> 00:49:35.760
Uh you know, what percentage of ballots are you receiving after that election day in the mail versus ones that you've received before then and voted by then?
00:49:35.760 --> 00:49:37.119
What's that look like?
00:49:37.760 --> 00:49:45.920
Um between the ballots that are received early and the ones that are turned in on election day, whether it's a ballot draw box or in person, that's a vast majority of the ballots.
00:49:45.920 --> 00:49:46.320
Okay.
00:49:46.320 --> 00:49:51.440
Now, there are people who wait until the last minute to mail them, as much as we would discourage voters from doing that.
00:49:51.440 --> 00:50:01.199
Uh so we do get, you know, you're talking hundreds, maybe thousands uh received in the days or so after the election, as opposed to the tens of thousands that were received before that.
00:50:01.199 --> 00:50:02.239
So it's a small percent.
00:50:02.639 --> 00:50:07.280
Depending on the election, hundreds could could change the course of election.
00:50:07.280 --> 00:50:11.760
Some of these city council races are won by a very small majority.
00:50:12.159 --> 00:50:12.239
Yeah.
00:50:12.239 --> 00:50:20.000
So when you're looking at a city council race, especially because so many of them are cut up into smaller divisions now, yeah, you know, district A or B in Oroville, that sort of thing.
00:50:20.000 --> 00:50:28.239
Um but when you think about let's say we get a thousand ballots the day after the election and the mail are postmarked and they're going to be counted, how many of those are from that neighborhood in Oroville?
00:50:28.239 --> 00:50:28.480
Right.
00:50:28.480 --> 00:50:28.800
Right.
00:50:28.800 --> 00:50:29.199
Right, okay.
00:50:29.199 --> 00:50:29.840
A handful.
00:50:29.840 --> 00:50:30.239
Okay.
00:50:30.239 --> 00:50:35.119
Um now the margins are generally smaller, the totals are smaller when you get those smaller races.
00:50:35.119 --> 00:50:43.360
Um but uh that that's why every vote is so important, because it does make a difference on who gets on that school board or that uh that rec district, that city council seat.
00:50:43.360 --> 00:50:43.599
Yeah.
00:50:43.599 --> 00:50:49.119
And that's where those days after the election when people will hurry up, get on with it, where are the results?
00:50:49.119 --> 00:50:53.280
We've got to count every single one of those valid ballots to make sure the correct person is elected.
00:50:53.360 --> 00:50:53.920
Aaron Ross Powell Okay.
00:50:53.920 --> 00:50:57.440
So um have I missed anything in this process?
00:50:57.440 --> 00:51:00.800
Have you explained is there any aspect of it that we haven't covered yet?
00:51:01.039 --> 00:51:03.679
I I think that we we've covered it broad strokes pretty well.
00:51:03.679 --> 00:51:04.079
Okay.
00:51:04.079 --> 00:51:07.760
Um the other thing that we didn't quite touch on is how voter roles are maintained.
00:51:08.079 --> 00:51:08.880
Okay, let's talk about that.
00:51:09.280 --> 00:51:09.440
Yeah.
00:51:09.440 --> 00:51:12.480
So it's not only just you sign up to vote and that's it.
00:51:12.480 --> 00:51:13.519
You're you're on there forever.
00:51:13.519 --> 00:51:14.000
Right.
00:51:14.000 --> 00:51:19.599
We're receiving regular updates from the California Department of Health for Okay, hold on.
00:51:19.760 --> 00:51:20.639
I want to get into that in a minute.
00:51:20.639 --> 00:51:20.960
Okay.
00:51:20.960 --> 00:51:21.199
Okay.
00:51:21.199 --> 00:51:23.679
I want to get into that in a minute, but I want to close the loop on this other thing.
00:51:23.679 --> 00:51:28.159
Because that leads to a question that I have about how do you keep dead people from voting?
00:51:28.159 --> 00:51:28.559
Okay.
00:51:28.559 --> 00:51:28.880
Yeah.
00:51:28.880 --> 00:51:29.920
We're going to get to that in a minute.
00:51:30.079 --> 00:51:30.159
Sure.
00:51:30.159 --> 00:51:32.800
Yeah, when you said when you said I is there anything else you want to talk about?
00:51:34.000 --> 00:51:34.480
I do, I do.
00:51:34.480 --> 00:51:36.960
But I want to I wanna I wanna get into this.
00:51:36.960 --> 00:51:42.639
Why the hell can't you certify why can't you tell us who won the night the damn election is over?
00:51:42.639 --> 00:51:45.199
That's the that's the one uh and we've already talked a little bit about that.
00:51:45.199 --> 00:51:45.519
Yeah.
00:51:45.519 --> 00:51:51.119
First off, you have to wait up to seven days for the vote by mail to show up, right?
00:51:51.119 --> 00:51:56.480
Then you have the 22-day rule for people who need to cure their ballot, right?
00:51:56.480 --> 00:51:59.280
So now we've now we're out 22 days, right?
00:51:59.280 --> 00:52:03.119
Um how when when do you have to certify an election?
00:52:03.119 --> 00:52:04.079
What's the time frame for the Trevor Burrus?
00:52:04.239 --> 00:52:05.840
We have to certify it before 30 days have passed.
00:52:06.159 --> 00:52:06.960
Before 30 days, okay.
00:52:06.960 --> 00:52:07.119
Okay.
00:52:07.519 --> 00:52:08.320
So then we're in that window.
00:52:08.320 --> 00:52:12.000
It used to be get done as fast as you can has to be before 30 days.
00:52:12.000 --> 00:52:12.320
Okay.
00:52:12.320 --> 00:52:12.880
Go.
00:52:13.119 --> 00:52:13.280
Okay.
00:52:13.840 --> 00:52:22.320
Now it's wait seven days for ballots to come in the mail, wait twenty-two days for cure signatures, and then finish sometime between twenty-two and thirty.
00:52:22.320 --> 00:52:22.639
Trevor Burrus, Jr.
00:52:22.800 --> 00:52:24.559
So you can't finish until twenty-two days.
00:52:25.760 --> 00:52:26.559
And we are waiting around.
00:52:26.559 --> 00:52:28.719
Like we are there's nothing left for us to count.
00:52:28.719 --> 00:52:31.360
We're just waiting for cure letters to come in or voters to get back to us.
00:52:31.360 --> 00:52:35.119
Yeah, so the voters aren't the only ones waiting for the results.
00:52:35.119 --> 00:52:37.679
We're we're waiting too, just waiting for that deadline to pass.
00:52:37.679 --> 00:52:38.079
Okay.
00:52:38.079 --> 00:52:40.239
Now, that might not be the same county to county.
00:52:40.239 --> 00:52:43.760
LA, perhaps they're still counting because they've got millions of ballots to count, right?
00:52:43.760 --> 00:52:45.280
That there's a lot of work to be done there.
00:52:45.280 --> 00:52:48.239
Uh counties of our size, we are done.
00:52:48.239 --> 00:52:49.440
We're we're just waiting around.
00:52:49.760 --> 00:52:51.360
The lion's share of the work has been done.
00:52:51.760 --> 00:52:52.159
Absolutely.
00:52:52.159 --> 00:52:52.480
Okay.
00:52:52.480 --> 00:52:53.840
Yeah, it it it's done.
00:52:53.840 --> 00:53:00.239
Now there's a there's a perception in there, and something that you briefly mentioned, is that why aren't we saying who won on election night?
00:53:00.239 --> 00:53:00.480
Yeah.
00:53:00.480 --> 00:53:03.199
And the short answer to that is we're never the ones that say who won.
00:53:03.199 --> 00:53:04.719
It's always the media that beats us to it.
00:53:04.719 --> 00:53:05.280
Of course.
00:53:05.280 --> 00:53:07.280
And they're the ones making projections.
00:53:07.280 --> 00:53:12.880
They're using their data models and everything else by using incomplete results and then saying, yep, we know who the winner is.
00:53:12.880 --> 00:53:13.280
Yeah.
00:53:13.280 --> 00:53:17.920
So when voters think, well, in previous elections we knew who won right away.
00:53:17.920 --> 00:53:18.880
Well, you didn't.
00:53:18.880 --> 00:53:21.760
That was an unofficial media projection.
00:53:21.760 --> 00:53:22.079
Right.
00:53:22.079 --> 00:53:22.480
Right.
00:53:22.480 --> 00:53:23.679
Um certified results.
00:53:24.079 --> 00:53:24.880
The media still tries to do it.
00:53:25.199 --> 00:53:25.360
Right.
00:53:25.360 --> 00:53:25.519
Yeah.
00:53:25.519 --> 00:53:27.199
And and j generally they're pretty good at it.
00:53:27.440 --> 00:53:27.599
Okay.
00:53:28.480 --> 00:53:31.920
But that's that was never the certified final results.
00:53:31.920 --> 00:53:32.159
Okay.
00:53:32.159 --> 00:53:36.960
Because even if all the ballots were in the building and counted on election night, we still have audits to do.
00:53:36.960 --> 00:53:38.880
We need to verify those results are accurate.
00:53:38.880 --> 00:53:40.480
And that was never done on election night.
00:53:40.480 --> 00:53:40.800
Got it.
00:53:40.800 --> 00:53:41.760
Never done, right?
00:53:41.760 --> 00:53:42.079
Okay.
00:53:42.079 --> 00:53:56.960
Uh we we need to go through and manually count those and verify that everything's correct before we certify the election and say, I am confident as the elected registrar that this was a proper procedure, these are the accurate results, and now we're ready to swear somebody into the new new office.
00:53:56.960 --> 00:53:57.280
Trevor Burrus, Jr.
00:53:57.360 --> 00:54:02.800
So the official certified um election results have always been within 30 days.
00:54:02.800 --> 00:54:05.360
Or as long as I've been in office, yeah.
00:54:05.360 --> 00:54:06.000
It's been 30 days.
00:54:06.000 --> 00:54:06.719
Exactly right.
00:54:06.719 --> 00:54:16.960
And now you've got this seven-day rule and the 22-day rule that push it out, so you can't even think about certifying it until those two time frames have have come.
00:54:16.960 --> 00:54:17.599
That's right.
00:54:17.599 --> 00:54:18.000
Okay.
00:54:18.000 --> 00:54:18.800
All right.
00:54:18.800 --> 00:54:21.280
So I think we've answered why it takes so long, right?
00:54:21.280 --> 00:54:27.280
And it's not necessarily your fault, but uh these are laws passed by the legislators of California.
00:54:27.280 --> 00:54:27.599
Yeah.
00:54:27.599 --> 00:54:30.639
So most of the problems we have in California is because of the legislature.
00:54:30.639 --> 00:54:31.519
So that's not true.
00:54:31.519 --> 00:54:32.639
Trevor Burrus, Jr.: It's by design.
00:54:32.639 --> 00:54:33.519
They're doing it on purpose.
00:54:33.519 --> 00:54:34.000
Okay.
00:54:34.559 --> 00:54:37.760
But but it is to make sure that every eligible ballot is being counted.
00:54:37.760 --> 00:54:38.079
Yeah.
00:54:38.079 --> 00:54:40.079
And that's that's the stated intent.
00:54:40.480 --> 00:54:40.559
Okay.
00:54:40.559 --> 00:54:40.960
Fair enough.
00:54:40.960 --> 00:54:41.360
Yeah.
00:54:41.519 --> 00:54:42.400
Not my intent.
00:54:42.400 --> 00:54:43.199
Sacramento.
00:54:43.199 --> 00:54:45.280
Call your legislature if you'd like to see something changed.
00:54:45.280 --> 00:54:46.719
I'm a local administrator.
00:54:46.719 --> 00:54:47.840
Don't blame me.
00:54:48.239 --> 00:54:50.000
So let's go back to the voter rolls thing.
00:54:50.000 --> 00:54:52.639
And that and that's the people who have registered to vote, right?
00:54:52.639 --> 00:55:00.960
And how you make sure that they one, that they meet the requirements to be a voter, and then how they maintain those requirements, right?
00:55:00.960 --> 00:55:01.199
Yeah.
00:55:01.199 --> 00:55:01.519
Yeah.
00:55:01.519 --> 00:55:01.760
Okay.
00:55:01.760 --> 00:55:02.400
So explain that.
00:55:02.800 --> 00:55:06.239
Well, any time that you move, uh, you need to update your voter registration, right?
00:55:06.239 --> 00:55:07.599
So making sure we're getting the correct ballot.
00:55:07.920 --> 00:55:10.719
But you might have a different set of elections to be part of.
00:55:10.719 --> 00:55:11.199
That's right.
00:55:11.360 --> 00:55:14.239
You also want to receive your voter information guide where you're living and all that stuff.
00:55:14.239 --> 00:55:18.719
So voters have some responsibility in maintaining voter roles as much as we do.
00:55:19.280 --> 00:55:23.039
Additionally, we voters have lots of responsibilities that they don't always take seriously.
00:55:23.039 --> 00:55:23.280
Trevor Burrus, Jr.
00:55:23.280 --> 00:55:23.519
Right.
00:55:23.519 --> 00:55:23.760
Okay.
00:55:24.000 --> 00:55:29.760
And they will uh unfortunately be affected by that if they're not updating their registration, they're not going to receive their ballot.
00:55:29.760 --> 00:55:30.239
Sure.
00:55:30.239 --> 00:55:33.119
So if you don't receive your ballot and you call us and go, where's my ballot?
00:55:33.119 --> 00:55:34.719
Well, did you check your voter registration?
00:55:34.719 --> 00:55:37.679
Was it mailed to the wrong address or was it mailed to you?
00:55:37.679 --> 00:55:41.360
But uh we we get regular updates uh from the post office.
00:55:41.360 --> 00:55:41.599
Okay.
00:55:41.599 --> 00:55:46.159
So if we have mail that goes out from our office, all election mail is non-forwardable.
00:55:46.400 --> 00:55:46.559
Okay.
00:55:46.800 --> 00:55:52.400
So if it they try to mail, if we try to mail you something and the post office knows you're not at that address anymore, they'll send it back to us.
00:55:52.400 --> 00:55:59.119
If voter's not here, we make you inactive, and we're no longer going to mail you anything until you pop back up on our radar and tell us where you went.
00:55:59.280 --> 00:55:59.599
Okay.
00:55:59.840 --> 00:56:01.599
So that's happening constantly.
00:56:01.599 --> 00:56:05.280
Anytime anything's uh mailed out, uh we have voters that are made inactive.
00:56:05.519 --> 00:56:05.679
Okay.
00:56:05.840 --> 00:56:11.840
Now if you pop up on election day and you say, here's my new address, I want I want to vote, I moved, great.
00:56:11.840 --> 00:56:13.920
You you'll be able to participate in the process, no problem.
00:56:13.920 --> 00:56:14.960
On election day.
00:56:14.960 --> 00:56:15.360
Yeah.
00:56:15.360 --> 00:56:17.679
You're still you're still registered, you're in the system.
00:56:17.679 --> 00:56:17.920
Okay.
00:56:17.920 --> 00:56:20.320
We just need to update your address and then you can vote.
00:56:20.719 --> 00:56:30.239
So distinguish that from uh if I think I heard you say that uh you can register to vote up to 15 days before the election.
00:56:30.239 --> 00:56:31.280
That's right.
00:56:31.280 --> 00:56:37.679
Um but the difference here is that you're already registered to vote, so that rule doesn't apply.
00:56:38.079 --> 00:56:39.360
The difference here is that you're showing up in person.
00:56:39.360 --> 00:56:40.079
Got it, okay.
00:56:40.079 --> 00:56:43.360
And and you are filling out what is called a conditional voter registration form.
00:56:43.360 --> 00:56:43.760
Okay.
00:56:43.760 --> 00:56:47.920
Which means you are gonna be able to vote conditional on us being able to verify your eligibility.
00:56:47.920 --> 00:56:48.400
Got it.
00:56:48.400 --> 00:56:48.559
Okay.
00:56:48.559 --> 00:56:55.599
And that's something that we have to have built in because if you register before the 15 days, we're gonna have your eligibility sorted out before the election.
00:56:56.000 --> 00:56:56.880
With the various checks that you do.
00:56:56.880 --> 00:56:57.360
That's right.
00:56:57.360 --> 00:56:57.679
Got it.
00:56:57.679 --> 00:56:57.840
Okay.
00:56:58.000 --> 00:57:01.760
But if you are registering on the day of election or right up to, you have to do so in person.
00:57:01.760 --> 00:57:02.079
Okay.
00:57:02.079 --> 00:57:06.320
And then you're providing all the information, basically filling out a new voter registration form.
00:57:06.320 --> 00:57:09.119
But uh we we've got you, you can still vote in person.
00:57:09.119 --> 00:57:13.599
There's a s there's a safe safety net kind of built in so that you're still eligible to vote.
00:57:13.760 --> 00:57:14.000
Okay.
00:57:14.079 --> 00:57:15.519
Um, but those are inactive voters.
00:57:15.519 --> 00:57:20.480
Those are the ones that we are identifying through mailers that we've sent out uh that have bounced back undeliverable.
00:57:20.719 --> 00:57:20.960
Okay.
00:57:21.280 --> 00:57:29.360
Uh, we're also receiving regular updates from the state and from the uh California Department of Public Health on anybody who's been incarcerated and lost their right to vote.
00:57:29.360 --> 00:57:29.599
Okay.
00:57:29.599 --> 00:57:39.920
Or has been um ruled ineligible due to um mental faculties if they are not not able to vote for those reasons, uh, or uh they've died.
00:57:39.920 --> 00:57:40.400
Okay.
00:57:40.400 --> 00:57:40.800
Right?
00:57:40.800 --> 00:57:42.400
Those people are removed from the voter rolls.
00:57:42.639 --> 00:57:44.000
So that's how you keep dead people from voting.
00:57:44.000 --> 00:57:44.559
That's right.
00:57:44.559 --> 00:57:45.519
That's how that's how we do it.
00:57:45.519 --> 00:57:45.840
Okay.
00:57:46.079 --> 00:57:52.719
Uh and then additionally, let's say somebody managed somebody dies right when ballots are being mailed out.
00:57:52.719 --> 00:57:57.440
Well, we're also gonna be able to keep that person from voting because the signature is not gonna match when they go to mail it back in.
00:57:57.440 --> 00:57:57.760
Okay.
00:57:57.760 --> 00:57:58.079
Right?
00:57:58.079 --> 00:58:04.880
So if if somebody passes away the day of or during the voting period, um we'll have a signature that we know doesn't match the one on record.
00:58:04.880 --> 00:58:05.119
Okay.
00:58:05.119 --> 00:58:13.760
So there's kind of a catch on both ends where the regular updates are being processed by my staff, whether there's an election or not, we do those in the off years and everything in between.
00:58:13.760 --> 00:58:19.119
Uh but we also have, again, that signature verification to make sure that none of those ballots are being counted.
00:58:19.440 --> 00:58:19.599
Okay.
00:58:19.599 --> 00:58:25.199
Uh is there any other data that you use to determine whether or not someone is still eligible to vote on the voter rules?
00:58:25.519 --> 00:58:29.280
Uh well, we also have the uh the DMV communications that we talked about briefly earlier, right?
00:58:29.280 --> 00:58:37.199
If if you've moved, uh you know, you're you're thinking about updating your driver's license and those things, you might not always be thinking, oh, my voter registration also.
00:58:37.599 --> 00:58:40.480
If you update your driver's license, does it update your voter registration as well?
00:58:40.480 --> 00:58:40.800
Yep.
00:58:40.800 --> 00:58:41.199
Okay.
00:58:41.360 --> 00:58:41.519
Okay.
00:58:41.519 --> 00:58:46.239
Uh so sometimes people will do that on accident if they are registering a recreational vehicle in another county.
00:58:46.239 --> 00:58:46.400
Right.
00:58:46.400 --> 00:58:54.000
Uh you want to make sure you're paying attention to the forms you're filling out because you don't want to move your voter registration with your boat or whatever it is that you're registering in another county.
00:58:54.000 --> 00:58:54.320
Okay.
00:58:54.320 --> 00:58:59.360
Um, but there is a form that you are filling out and checking, yes, I want to update my voter registration with this information also.
00:58:59.360 --> 00:58:59.760
Okay.
00:58:59.760 --> 00:59:04.239
Uh so make sure that you're reading everything that you sign, which is just good advice for anything in general.
00:59:04.239 --> 00:59:04.639
For sure.
00:59:04.639 --> 00:59:09.519
But people get in a hurry and sometimes those types of mistakes can happen where their voter registration gets pulled.
00:59:09.519 --> 00:59:09.760
Okay.
00:59:09.760 --> 00:59:15.119
Um but uh it once they realize the voter realizes that they've made the mistake, we can we can pull those registrations back.
00:59:15.519 --> 00:59:19.760
Uh that that brought so what if you have like uh what if you have a vacation house in another county?
00:59:20.800 --> 00:59:21.440
It's a good question.
00:59:21.440 --> 00:59:22.880
How does that work?
00:59:22.880 --> 00:59:25.760
The uh Can you be registered in two counties?
00:59:25.760 --> 00:59:26.480
No, you can't.
00:59:26.719 --> 00:59:26.880
Okay.
00:59:27.039 --> 00:59:29.519
Uh and it's and it's not just having a vacation home.
00:59:29.519 --> 00:59:38.320
You think about uh fire survivors, people who've been dis r uh dislocated because of um any sort of natural disaster or college students.
00:59:38.320 --> 00:59:38.719
Okay.
00:59:38.719 --> 00:59:41.199
Uh they they might not be residing where their home is.
00:59:41.199 --> 00:59:41.679
Right.
00:59:41.679 --> 00:59:47.440
So when you register to vote, you have a residence address on the voter registration form and then a mailing address.
00:59:47.679 --> 00:59:47.840
Okay.
00:59:48.000 --> 00:59:51.039
Now your residence address, the legal term would be domicile.
00:59:51.039 --> 00:59:51.280
Yeah.
00:59:51.280 --> 00:59:55.360
So it's where you consider to be your home or a place you intend to return to when you're away.
00:59:55.360 --> 00:59:55.840
Okay.
00:59:55.840 --> 01:00:00.320
So that means that every voter is responsible for determining where their home is.
01:00:00.320 --> 01:00:00.719
Okay.
01:00:00.719 --> 01:00:12.159
So if you are a college student, say you attend Chico State, but your family lives in San Jose and you're just here for college, and as soon as the term ends, you're jetting back to San Jose, you can be registered to vote and vote in San Jose as elections.
01:00:12.159 --> 01:00:12.480
Sure.
01:00:12.480 --> 01:00:14.880
Uh they can mail your ballot to you, you fill it out, mail it back.
01:00:14.880 --> 01:00:15.199
Okay.
01:00:15.199 --> 01:00:23.440
Because when you graduate and go back home to start your family or your job or whatever, the policy decisions made by those elected officials in San Jose are the ones that affect you.
01:00:23.440 --> 01:00:24.000
For sure.
01:00:24.000 --> 01:00:26.559
So that's a decision that every voter has to make.
01:00:26.559 --> 01:00:35.360
Now, a college student is the prevalent example here in here in Chico, is that many college students come to Chico and this becomes their home.
01:00:35.360 --> 01:00:39.039
They fall in love with the area, whether it's Butte County Natural Beauty or the town or whatever.
01:00:39.039 --> 01:00:40.559
Um, and this could be their home.
01:00:40.719 --> 01:00:40.960
Yeah.
01:00:41.280 --> 01:00:42.559
Or it could be somewhere else.
01:00:42.559 --> 01:00:46.239
But it's up to each voter to determine where their domicile is, where home is.
01:00:46.480 --> 01:00:46.559
Right.
01:00:46.559 --> 01:00:52.000
So they they're the ones that are ultimately determining whether or not this is their home for voting purposes, but they have to select one place.
01:00:52.000 --> 01:00:52.880
But they get one place.
01:00:52.880 --> 01:00:53.119
That's the same thing.
01:00:53.119 --> 01:00:53.599
One place.
01:00:53.599 --> 01:00:53.840
Okay.
01:00:53.840 --> 01:00:54.079
Okay.
01:00:54.320 --> 01:01:00.400
And if you try to uh register in another county, your registration will automatically be canceled here and move to that new county.
01:01:00.480 --> 01:01:02.400
Aaron Powell And that's because it's all going to the Secretary of State.
01:01:02.800 --> 01:01:03.360
It's all connected.
01:01:03.360 --> 01:01:03.599
Okay.
01:01:03.599 --> 01:01:05.920
And that the same thing goes with casting a ballot.
01:01:05.920 --> 01:01:06.239
Okay.
01:01:06.239 --> 01:01:17.679
If you cast a ballot in LA and then we have a four-week voting period because of vote by mail, if you cast a ballot in LA and try to move and re-register and vote somewhere else, we know you cast that ballot in LA the second you've done it.
01:01:17.679 --> 01:01:18.000
Okay.
01:01:18.000 --> 01:01:23.119
So uh yeah, all of that stuff is uh again the safety features that we have built in with the current system.
01:01:23.440 --> 01:01:30.880
I suspect this is I mean this is a really uh uh unlikely scenario, but we talked about if you have a vacation house in one county.
01:01:30.880 --> 01:01:32.880
What if you have a vacation house in another state?
01:01:32.880 --> 01:01:36.960
What prevents you from registering to vote both in California and say Oregon?
01:01:36.960 --> 01:01:38.320
Is there a mechanism for that?
01:01:38.639 --> 01:01:46.719
Uh so there there is not, except for when you register in California, part of the voter registration form is you providing a address that you've been previously registered at.
01:01:46.719 --> 01:01:46.960
Okay.
01:01:46.960 --> 01:01:51.039
And if we notice that's in another state, we will send a notification to that state to let them know.
01:01:51.039 --> 01:01:51.440
Okay.
01:01:51.440 --> 01:01:55.840
Now, there have been some states that have banded together in the past it was called ERIC.
01:01:55.840 --> 01:01:56.239
Okay.
01:01:56.239 --> 01:02:04.559
Voters who are paying attention might might have heard that before, uh, where it was a uh kind of an association of states that were sharing voter registration data back and forth.
01:02:04.559 --> 01:02:04.800
Okay.
01:02:04.800 --> 01:02:15.440
So that way if a voter popped up in any of those states that were a part of that system, um, you could relay that information back and forth and they could cancel out the old registration and run with the new one.
01:02:15.440 --> 01:02:16.000
Right.
01:02:16.000 --> 01:02:19.920
Uh unfortunately, that program, well, it's never been implemented in California.
01:02:19.920 --> 01:02:29.920
Um and it also kind of became the target of conspiracy theories and people didn't like it, and it felt like a I don't know if they felt like it was a shadow government or they didn't trust that that system was working.
01:02:29.920 --> 01:02:30.079
Okay.
01:02:30.079 --> 01:02:36.320
And so a lot of those states actually pulled out of that beneficial program that was just sharing data across states.
01:02:36.320 --> 01:02:43.039
Um so unfortunately it it's never been implemented here in California, and there are uh financial reasons uh behind that.
01:02:43.039 --> 01:02:47.039
Um but uh it was a valid tool for the states that were engaged in that.
01:02:47.039 --> 01:02:47.199
Okay.
01:02:47.199 --> 01:02:51.440
But it it kind of came unraveled uh after 2020 and the fears and everything that came with that.
01:02:52.400 --> 01:03:14.719
Where do you think I mean you you t we talked a little bit about I mean there there's just this heightened uh over the last, you know, I don't know, five years or so um perception or these allegations, prov pervasive allegations that continue to come up over and over again about election security and s and elections being stolen and so forth and so on.
01:03:14.719 --> 01:03:16.480
What do you think is driving that?
01:03:17.119 --> 01:03:20.239
Well, I I think that it became a a national conversation.
01:03:20.239 --> 01:03:20.480
Yeah.
01:03:20.480 --> 01:03:24.639
And I think that's the the wrong direction or the wrong wrong way to approach it.
01:03:24.639 --> 01:03:25.039
Okay.
01:03:25.039 --> 01:03:28.000
Elections are conducted at the county level.
01:03:28.000 --> 01:03:28.320
Okay.
01:03:28.320 --> 01:03:30.079
And this is the way it was set up by the Founding Fathers.
01:03:30.079 --> 01:03:31.599
Yeah.
01:03:31.599 --> 01:03:34.960
There are something like thirty one hundred counties in the in the country.
01:03:34.960 --> 01:03:43.199
I think that's where and every one of them has a registrar or a clerk or somebody who's responsible for conducting elections like I am here in Butte County.
01:03:43.199 --> 01:03:48.000
And the beauty of that system is if something goes wrong, it's isolated.
01:03:48.000 --> 01:03:48.320
Right.
01:03:48.320 --> 01:03:48.719
Right?
01:03:48.719 --> 01:03:50.960
Local hands can put their hands on it and fix it.
01:03:50.960 --> 01:03:52.960
And it's just in that area where they have an issue.
01:03:52.960 --> 01:03:54.000
Or it can be contained.
01:03:54.000 --> 01:03:55.199
Yeah, contained, right.
01:03:55.199 --> 01:04:00.400
There's no uh widespread anything because it can never be bigger than a county.
01:04:00.400 --> 01:04:00.639
Okay.
01:04:00.639 --> 01:04:02.320
Because of the the way the system is set up.
01:04:02.320 --> 01:04:04.239
It's decentralized in that way.
01:04:04.239 --> 01:04:15.519
Um so the conversations about uh election security or if there's any issues that come up with accuracy of the results, those conversations need to be had at the local level.
01:04:15.760 --> 01:04:16.079
Okay.
01:04:16.400 --> 01:04:24.559
Now, generally what we have is we'll have at at the local level, you have voters who are interested in the process or they're concerned and they want answers.
01:04:24.559 --> 01:04:29.360
Give us a call, come down and talk to us, we'll we'll talk you through it and show you all of the things that are in place.
01:04:29.360 --> 01:04:34.639
And if you feel like those things aren't in place like they should be, it can be handled at the local level.
01:04:34.639 --> 01:04:43.119
When the conversation becomes sort of theoretical at the national level, um you have issues where not every state has the same rules, right?
01:04:43.119 --> 01:04:45.840
Not every county is administering them exactly the same way.
01:04:45.840 --> 01:04:46.159
Right.
01:04:46.159 --> 01:04:58.079
So it becomes this convoluted, smeared kind of understanding of people who are talking about it do not understand the local policies and procedures that are in place.
01:04:58.079 --> 01:04:58.400
Yeah.
01:04:58.400 --> 01:05:06.159
And those misunderstandings and gaps in information get filled in by fears, concerns.
01:05:06.159 --> 01:05:13.519
Um and in in 2020, everything the world was going through at that time too, people were distrustful of government.
01:05:13.519 --> 01:05:16.719
And it just kind of came together all at all at one time.
01:05:16.719 --> 01:05:17.039
Okay.
01:05:17.039 --> 01:05:24.960
Um, where you had candidates saying and not trusting in the election results, right, as well as general distrust of what was going on in government.
01:05:24.960 --> 01:05:30.320
And we could just see that you know, living living it day-to-day lives in in that time frame.
01:05:30.320 --> 01:05:34.960
Um and so rebuilding trust is always something that takes time.
01:05:34.960 --> 01:05:35.360
Yeah.
01:05:35.360 --> 01:05:37.440
But again, it has to happen at the local level.
01:05:37.440 --> 01:05:39.760
A national conversation isn't gonna fix it.
01:05:40.000 --> 01:05:40.239
Yeah.
01:05:40.239 --> 01:05:40.639
Yeah.
01:05:40.639 --> 01:05:52.159
I I I I wholeheartedly agree that I think that that one of the reasons that I have uh spent my entire career uh serving at the local level is I think that's where you have the most impact.
01:05:52.159 --> 01:05:54.960
That's where you're closest to the actual people you serve.
01:05:54.960 --> 01:05:59.679
Um the farther away you get from that, um I think the less effective.
01:05:59.679 --> 01:06:04.800
you can be to really making life a better place for your for the people that you you live with in your community.
01:06:04.800 --> 01:06:05.199
Yeah.
01:06:05.199 --> 01:06:07.199
So I I agree wholehearted with that.
01:06:07.280 --> 01:06:11.280
Trevor Burrus And it's the motivations of of the people in in seats that are elected like you like you like ours.
01:06:11.280 --> 01:06:12.000
Yeah.
01:06:12.000 --> 01:06:13.119
We live here.
01:06:13.119 --> 01:06:13.679
This is home.
01:06:13.679 --> 01:06:15.519
We are we are looking out for us.
01:06:15.519 --> 01:06:15.760
Right.
01:06:15.760 --> 01:06:17.679
And not just our our personal interests, right?
01:06:17.679 --> 01:06:18.960
It's the people in our community.
01:06:18.960 --> 01:06:19.280
Right.
01:06:19.280 --> 01:06:19.440
Right.
01:06:19.440 --> 01:06:24.719
And uh you know the people that we care about, the the decisions that we make affect us here at home.
01:06:24.719 --> 01:06:25.039
Yeah.
01:06:25.039 --> 01:06:28.239
And uh yeah we're the best hands for this.
01:06:28.239 --> 01:06:38.559
And in elections when we've got my seven people, seven member staff, and then 110 of our closest friends coming in at elections to help us out, that's how it's done.
01:06:38.559 --> 01:06:39.280
For sure.
01:06:39.519 --> 01:06:39.920
Yeah.
01:06:39.920 --> 01:06:41.440
A couple other things.
01:06:41.440 --> 01:06:42.719
Ballot harvesting.
01:06:42.719 --> 01:06:43.679
What do you know about that?
01:06:44.159 --> 01:06:44.480
A lot.
01:06:44.480 --> 01:06:45.440
Okay, tell me more.
01:06:45.440 --> 01:06:49.199
So uh ballot harvesting is a boogeyman type phrase.
01:06:49.199 --> 01:06:49.760
Okay.
01:06:49.840 --> 01:06:49.920
Okay.
01:06:50.320 --> 01:06:56.559
Basically what it means is I have filled out my ballot, I've signed it, um I can't be bothered to turn it in.
01:06:56.559 --> 01:06:56.880
Okay.
01:06:56.880 --> 01:06:58.960
Hey Corey, you're my buddy, would you turn this in for me?
01:06:58.960 --> 01:06:59.519
Okay.
01:06:59.519 --> 01:07:02.320
That that's that's ballot harvesting.
01:07:02.320 --> 01:07:02.719
Okay.
01:07:02.719 --> 01:07:03.920
And there's nothing wrong with that.
01:07:03.920 --> 01:07:04.320
Okay.
01:07:04.320 --> 01:07:13.280
As long as I have filled out my ballot, I have signed it, my signature matches the voter registration, I've sealed it, and I give it to somebody that I trust to turn it in.
01:07:13.280 --> 01:07:13.679
Okay.
01:07:13.679 --> 01:07:19.440
And and it it can really be something as simple as husband and wife, one of them drops off the ballots together.
01:07:19.440 --> 01:07:20.079
Right, okay.
01:07:20.079 --> 01:07:20.719
That that's it.
01:07:20.880 --> 01:07:21.599
And there's nothing wrong with that.
01:07:21.920 --> 01:07:22.400
Not not at all.
01:07:22.559 --> 01:07:22.719
Okay.
01:07:22.960 --> 01:07:37.199
But it could also be hey candidates holding a town hall meeting and we're all kind of here because we share similar beliefs uh let's all cast our ballots and batch them all up and I'll take them down there for you.
01:07:37.280 --> 01:07:43.519
Aaron Ross Powell And as long as you consent to your ballot being transported by another person there's nothing illegal and nothing wrong with it.
01:07:43.760 --> 01:07:44.400
There's nothing wrong with that.
01:07:44.400 --> 01:07:48.239
I I would I would encourage voters to only give their ballot to somebody they trust.
01:07:48.239 --> 01:07:48.559
Right.
01:07:48.559 --> 01:07:48.800
Right?
01:07:48.800 --> 01:07:50.800
You're not just handing it to somebody who knocked on your door.
01:07:50.800 --> 01:07:51.280
Right.
01:07:51.280 --> 01:07:55.840
But it doesn't in any way invalidate your votes that you cast on that piece of paper.
01:07:55.840 --> 01:07:57.679
However it gets it gets back to us is fine.
01:07:57.679 --> 01:07:58.079
Sure.
01:07:58.079 --> 01:08:01.119
Yeah so it it could be you know you're handing it to the mail carrier too.
01:08:01.119 --> 01:08:02.880
Mail carriers are bringing it back to us.
01:08:02.880 --> 01:08:03.119
Right.
01:08:03.119 --> 01:08:03.360
Right?
01:08:03.360 --> 01:08:03.840
That's right.
01:08:03.840 --> 01:08:07.280
Ballot harvesting they're going door to door and picking up everybody's ballots and bringing them back.
01:08:07.280 --> 01:08:08.639
It it's really all the same.
01:08:08.639 --> 01:08:08.960
Okay.
01:08:08.960 --> 01:08:14.000
Yeah so uh ballot harvesting big scary word it just means that ballots are being turned in.
01:08:14.239 --> 01:08:14.480
Okay.
01:08:14.639 --> 01:08:14.880
Yeah.
01:08:15.199 --> 01:08:15.519
All right.
01:08:15.519 --> 01:08:16.560
Voter ID.
01:08:16.800 --> 01:08:16.880
Yeah.
01:08:17.119 --> 01:08:18.079
What do you know about that?
01:08:18.399 --> 01:08:19.439
Uh a a fair bit.
01:08:19.439 --> 01:08:19.840
Okay.
01:08:19.840 --> 01:08:25.119
Uh so voter ID the way that it works in California is the ID is kind of provided on the registration side.
01:08:25.119 --> 01:08:25.520
Okay.
01:08:25.520 --> 01:08:35.039
And then once we verify that everybody's eligible to vote, we the way that California is set up is once you're eligible, we should make it as easy as possible for you to vote from that point forward.
01:08:35.359 --> 01:08:36.239
Okay so that's the rationale.
01:08:36.479 --> 01:08:36.800
That's right.
01:08:36.800 --> 01:08:38.800
Now other states do it the other way around.
01:08:38.800 --> 01:08:39.119
Okay.
01:08:39.119 --> 01:08:39.439
Right?
01:08:39.439 --> 01:08:44.239
They uh you have to show up you have to provide your ID when they hand you a ballot when you vote in the polls.
01:08:44.239 --> 01:08:46.640
North Dakota has no voter registration at all.
01:08:46.640 --> 01:08:47.600
You just show up.
01:08:47.600 --> 01:08:48.960
They just show up and vote.
01:08:48.960 --> 01:08:49.359
Really?
01:08:49.359 --> 01:08:51.039
They don't have any voter registration.
01:08:51.520 --> 01:08:55.279
So if you wanted to vote in an election in South Dakota you could drive there and vote?
01:08:57.119 --> 01:08:57.600
Dakota I apologize.
01:08:57.600 --> 01:09:02.960
Yeah yeah you just provide your name and your address to the person at the polls and then you cast your ballot.
01:09:02.960 --> 01:09:11.199
It's just a a different way of doing things but it doesn't mean that either way of doing it is not secure whether you're providing your ID up front or or at the polls.
01:09:11.199 --> 01:09:11.520
Okay.
01:09:11.520 --> 01:09:13.840
It's just this is a system we have in California.
01:09:13.840 --> 01:09:17.840
It's not something that was decided at the local level legislators set it up this way.
01:09:17.840 --> 01:09:29.680
But we we mentioned earlier that there are some federal rules that overlap where you could have an individual who based on how they register to vote would be required to provide ID the first time they vote in a federal election.
01:09:29.680 --> 01:09:30.079
Okay.
01:09:30.079 --> 01:09:45.840
So there are some overlapping laws there feds in in and in California but the general policy in California is that you're providing your identifying information up front and then once you're eligible to vote and you're registered you're pretty much good from there on so there's certainly been there's been efforts in California right to change that law.
01:09:46.000 --> 01:09:46.079
Right.
01:09:46.079 --> 01:09:46.560
That's right.
01:09:46.880 --> 01:09:58.159
And uh w where are we at with that right now do you know uh there's there's no change going on in in in state law right there have been some cities and counties that have tried to take it upon themselves to contradict state law.
01:09:58.159 --> 01:09:58.560
Right.
01:09:58.560 --> 01:10:00.399
They they cannot do that.
01:10:00.399 --> 01:10:10.640
It's problematic yeah you you've got to change the law at the state level that's that's what where the law is um and you know being a charter county or anything like that doesn't change your ability to contradict state law.
01:10:10.640 --> 01:10:20.479
So um there are there are court cases going on about you know some uh local jurisdictions attempting change at a local level but if if change is going to be made it has to happen in Sacramento.
01:10:20.800 --> 01:10:21.199
Got it.
01:10:21.199 --> 01:10:31.840
One of the other things is just very recently um uh Supreme Court came out on a ruling on an executive order issued by the Trump administration I think uh it's called Trump v.
01:10:31.840 --> 01:10:42.479
California and it had to do with um uh making sure I guess that the people who were receiving uh ballots by mail were on the voter roll.
01:10:42.479 --> 01:10:45.439
Is that your do you understand what was the what was the executive order?
01:10:46.000 --> 01:11:00.079
So the executive order is an attempt by the president to um use the levers that he has at his disposal being the United States Postal Service to enact how he feels elections should be held at the local level and across all the states.
01:11:00.079 --> 01:11:00.479
Okay.
01:11:00.479 --> 01:11:06.319
Now the Constitution lays out that the um elections are reserved for the states.
01:11:06.319 --> 01:11:06.720
Right.
01:11:06.720 --> 01:11:19.680
There are some instances where the federal government can pass laws affecting those uh policies and laws uh but it's for Congress and and the House to or and the Senate to handle that.
01:11:19.680 --> 01:11:33.359
So um that's where the those where the laws come from but the executive order was an attempt to allow the United States Postal Service to determine who should be receiving ballots and who shouldn't.
01:11:33.840 --> 01:11:34.079
Okay.
01:11:34.399 --> 01:11:38.560
And that is something that is uh a little bit scary okay to be honest with you.
01:11:38.560 --> 01:11:50.560
Uh anytime that you have a piece of election uh administration being handled over to somebody who does not do elections and is not well versed in what we do um just leads to a lot of issues.
01:11:50.560 --> 01:11:51.039
Sure.
01:11:51.039 --> 01:11:58.079
Uh so what happened was that we had the executive order and then there were lawsuits that came out of that because states did not want to comply with that.
01:11:58.079 --> 01:12:05.439
One of those cases was brought by 23 states saying that the uh executive order was unconstitutional.
01:12:05.680 --> 01:12:05.840
Okay.
01:12:06.800 --> 01:12:13.920
Uh there was another case more broadly that affected everybody that this is an unconstitutional thing and we you can't enforce this on the states.
01:12:13.920 --> 01:12:23.119
So what happened this week in the Supreme Court is that the uh one of the two injunctions was ruled uh basically that it was too early.
01:12:23.119 --> 01:12:30.000
Okay the states had sued before there was actually a rule in place and it wasn't clear what even the policy was going to be so you can't sue about it.
01:12:30.000 --> 01:12:32.720
Oh we turned on procedural grounds versus the merits of the case.
01:12:32.720 --> 01:12:43.279
Yeah and that and that was made clear in the s in the Supreme Court's uh statement when they when they passed down their ruling so it's just about the procedural issue that case is being refiled um and the other injunction is still in place.
01:12:43.279 --> 01:12:43.680
Okay.
01:12:43.680 --> 01:12:46.479
So there is uh still an injunction against that executive order.
01:12:46.479 --> 01:12:57.119
So I want voters to know uh that the vote by mail uh process that we have in California, alive and well it's going to be conducted like that in November uh so they don't have anything to worry about there.
01:12:57.119 --> 01:13:01.600
But it is going to be a fight going forward in the court system about what about the 2028 elections.
01:13:01.600 --> 01:13:01.920
Sure.
01:13:01.920 --> 01:13:02.399
Right?
01:13:02.399 --> 01:13:10.319
And and that's something that is going to be determined by the courts and and maybe the legislature weighs in between now and then uh to change the laws.
01:13:10.319 --> 01:13:10.720
Yeah.
01:13:10.720 --> 01:13:13.039
Uh but right now the fight's over that executive order.
01:13:13.680 --> 01:13:41.279
So uh and just to just to uh put a little finer point on it my uh reading of it and if if I'm wrong please correct me is um uh the states were supposed to or uh under this executive order the states are supposed to report who is eligible to vote that's right to the Department of Homeland Security who then provides that list to the Postal Service who would then be prohibited from giving or mailing or uh delivering a ballot to someone who was not on the list.
01:13:41.279 --> 01:13:41.920
Right.
01:13:41.920 --> 01:13:42.319
Okay.
01:13:42.720 --> 01:13:57.039
So it it was set up that and I haven't read the order word for word but this is my understanding of it is that yeah sixty days before an election uh the states would have to provide their eligible voter lists to Homeland Security who would do some sort of verification that hasn't been described.
01:13:57.039 --> 01:13:59.520
I don't know what they would actually do with those that information.
01:13:59.520 --> 01:14:13.279
And then they would provide that with USPS and then in California USPS would then be tasked with going through 10 million ballots and pulling out the ones that they feel based on the DHS checks aren't eligible voters.
01:14:13.279 --> 01:14:13.920
Right.
01:14:13.920 --> 01:14:20.800
Many issues with that one of which being well what happens if you register to vote after the 60 day window?
01:14:21.199 --> 01:14:24.000
Because in California you can do it within 15 days of the election.
01:14:24.479 --> 01:14:25.520
And still receive a ballot in the mail.
01:14:25.520 --> 01:14:30.319
Yeah right and then what happens if a voter doesn't receive their ballot and requests a replacement?
01:14:30.319 --> 01:14:30.800
Okay.
01:14:30.800 --> 01:14:35.439
And now USPS is going to look at that and say well this person's getting two ballots.
01:14:35.439 --> 01:14:39.439
Whereas we know that we voided the the previous one or are issuing a replacement.
01:14:39.760 --> 01:14:42.399
And if it showed up later you wouldn't count it because it's been voided that's right.
01:14:42.640 --> 01:14:42.880
Got it.
01:14:42.880 --> 01:14:50.319
But USPS would have no way of knowing that across the 58 counties in California much less the 3100 counties nationwide.
01:14:50.319 --> 01:15:01.840
So yeah it's um it it's a rule reaching trying to get to an end without I I don't think having the um the mechanisms built into it.
01:15:01.840 --> 01:15:05.520
At least not that it's been explained to any elections official that I've had conversations with.
01:15:05.520 --> 01:15:09.520
So yeah it it's um it and it's really tough.
01:15:09.520 --> 01:15:12.640
Right now we're sitting I believe it's 68 days until the election.
01:15:12.640 --> 01:15:12.960
Yeah.
01:15:12.960 --> 01:15:24.960
So any changes to the rules and the policy is just going to create confusion and uh make my job extremely difficult to make any sort of change between now and election day.
01:15:25.119 --> 01:15:38.800
So well it sounds like another example of a federal rule or you know some somebody at the federal level trying to dictate what's going to happen at the local level, which we all know this one size fits all approach from the federal level never works well, right?
01:15:39.119 --> 01:15:41.279
And it doesn't even work from the state level if we're being honest.
01:15:41.680 --> 01:15:52.960
Exactly and then uh doesn't take into account the nuances and the intricacies of the law uh that you have to ultimately carry out and execute when you're dealing with de uh dealing with these things.
01:15:53.039 --> 01:15:55.760
Aaron Ross Powell Absolutely and it's it's really easy to understand.
01:15:55.760 --> 01:16:00.560
Like if you just look at Pennsylvania they can't do their elections the same way Alaska does theirs.
01:16:00.960 --> 01:16:01.119
Sure.
01:16:01.680 --> 01:16:09.680
They're just completely different from from the urban areas or you know farms in Pennsylvania, coal mines or whatever to the wilderness in Alaska.
01:16:09.840 --> 01:16:37.600
Trevor Burrus Right the most remote places we can only reach by bush plain and yeah right yeah they're voting by sled dog not by mail uh they're they're very different and and trying to make every something fit everybody is extremely difficult especially at the federal level yeah that that that that makes a lot of sense all right so what other uh what else would you like the voters of Butte County to know that might uh one encourage them to become informed voters and vote.
01:16:37.600 --> 01:16:37.920
Right.
01:16:37.920 --> 01:16:38.399
Okay.
01:16:38.399 --> 01:16:44.800
Or or maybe dis uh dispel rumors or concerns or myths that uh uh you have to deal with on a constant basis.
01:16:45.119 --> 01:16:54.800
Well I hope that some of the information I provided today kind of lets them know that even if they don't completely understand the processes and everything that's going on behind the scenes, that they know that there are processes in place to protect against these things.
01:16:54.800 --> 01:17:03.840
And I've mentioned it briefly earlier but I would say that if a voter is concerned about the status of their individual ballot that they can check the status of that on our website.
01:17:03.840 --> 01:17:04.159
Okay.
01:17:04.159 --> 01:17:12.479
Uh buttevotes.ca.gov if you just type in where's my ballot into the search bar, you can sign up to get updates or you can just spot check it.
01:17:12.479 --> 01:17:15.439
So that way you know when your ballot's been mailed to you.
01:17:15.439 --> 01:17:15.600
Right.
01:17:15.600 --> 01:17:18.000
You'll obviously know when you receive it because it'll be in your hands.
01:17:18.000 --> 01:17:24.000
And then you'll also get updates on when we receive it back and when your uh signature's been verified and then you know your ballot's being counted.
01:17:24.000 --> 01:17:24.159
Yeah.
01:17:24.159 --> 01:17:29.680
So if a voter has any concern about the actual ballot transmission, uh they can get those updates there.
01:17:29.680 --> 01:17:33.840
And then I would also encourage people while they're on our website check your voter registration status.
01:17:33.840 --> 01:17:38.319
You can make sure that you're eligible registered at the correct address.
01:17:38.319 --> 01:17:38.560
Yeah.
01:17:38.560 --> 01:17:43.039
In case you've moved recently and you can't remember if you've re-registered do all that stuff now.
01:17:43.119 --> 01:17:59.039
That way you're getting your ballot on time and you can uh you can vote and participate in the election got it um do you have anything to do with the campaign signs that uh litter our environment every election season no I no I don't um yeah that that's I hate them I hate them.
01:17:59.279 --> 01:18:15.439
You know obviously the candidates come in and they file with our office and they get all of the rules and the handouts and everything on uh on their signs and their rules but if if they are violating those rules um and they're in the unincorporated areas, I guess they can call your office and you're no they cannot call my office I I'm not the police of campaign signs.
01:18:16.000 --> 01:18:20.399
Neither am I exactly right if your campaign signing gets stolen that's part of the election process.
01:18:20.399 --> 01:18:22.319
I'm not going to go out and investigate that.
01:18:22.960 --> 01:18:45.359
The fact is they uh even when they're even when they're put in places they should be they still just uh detract in my view from the whole uh uh aesthetic of our community but yeah that's um you know we we we obviously have like I said significant contact with with candidates all all their campaign finance stuff is filed through our office uh but we don't approve their signs or know where they're putting them or anything like that.
01:18:46.000 --> 01:18:46.800
All right fair enough.
01:18:46.800 --> 01:18:50.319
Well Keaton uh I think we've covered a lot of stuff here.
01:18:50.319 --> 01:18:51.039
Trevor Burrus Fantastic.
01:18:51.039 --> 01:19:14.960
Yeah and I think uh you've done a good job of of explaining the process and and uh I hope reassuring people that uh um within Butte County at least, because that's all we have control over, uh that uh you're making sure that the elections are are fair and that the results are uh legitimate once they're released uh and you have to abide by a lot of uh laws and regulations that uh are imposed upon you like the rest of us.
01:19:14.960 --> 01:19:17.039
Uh so I appreciate the work that you do.
01:19:17.039 --> 01:19:18.159
I appreciate you coming on.
01:19:18.159 --> 01:19:19.199
Thank you very much.
01:19:19.199 --> 01:19:29.359
And uh yeah I I I think this was uh good I'm gonna try to we'll try to get this out soon because uh election season we're in the midst of it and uh it's happening it's happening right now.
01:19:29.359 --> 01:19:43.680
Um I do also you know I comment you you talk about that that Supreme Court case and you know that when you read the headlines right the headlines make it seem like oh uh this you know massive change to the process is coming.
01:19:43.680 --> 01:19:49.119
Uh and that's the problem with the media of course you know they gotta they gotta write headlines that get people to click on there and read the stories.
01:19:49.119 --> 01:19:49.359
Yeah.
01:19:49.359 --> 01:19:58.720
But from what I'm hearing from you at least for this election uh it's gonna be the standard procedure that you've been following for regular status quo going forward.
01:19:59.039 --> 01:20:01.520
And if there is any widespread changes you'll hear it from our office.
01:20:01.520 --> 01:20:06.399
We will contact voters and do education and make sure that everybody understands what they need to do to cast their ballot.
01:20:06.720 --> 01:20:10.159
Perfect all right again my friend thank you very much I I'm glad that you came on.
01:20:10.159 --> 01:20:19.680
Uh and then uh you know maybe sometime we'll uh talk more about the program uh that you and the DAR are starting to uh protect people's titles to their property and and we'll see how that that goes.
01:20:19.680 --> 01:20:24.079
I know there's some cases out there maybe we'll get the D on DA on and talk about those as well.
01:20:24.079 --> 01:20:34.800
Yeah when they get to the point where they're ready to talk about those cases that that would be an interesting conversation okay all right well that uh brings us to the conclusion of this episode of the Sheriff's Mike.
01:20:34.800 --> 01:20:42.319
I do hope you found this informative I think it's important for people to have a good understanding of this process.
01:20:42.319 --> 01:20:53.840
There is so much uh out there that uh causes us to be concerned about the way elections are run and I appreciate uh Keaton coming on and and giving us an insight into how we do it here in Butte County.
01:20:53.840 --> 01:21:08.399
I think that uh I would encourage people to be informed voters, uh read the stuff that you're voting on, make sure you understand what you're voting on because that's just as important as getting registered to vote and making sure that whole process goes smoothly.
01:21:08.399 --> 01:21:10.159
Until next time, thank you.
01:21:10.159 --> 01:21:21.760
If you have any questions or comments or you'd like me to take on a topic you can always email me at thesheriffsmike at buttecounty.ca.gov and we'll certainly take that on.
01:21:21.760 --> 01:21:26.560
So until next time uh thank you and uh you're cleared to talk.