Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 38, September 20, 2024
(a) The county elections official shall
develop ballot collection and chain of custody procedures, which shall be
substantially similar to the following:
(1)
The county elections official shall assign at least two designated ballot
retrievers to retrieve voted vote-by-mail ballots from a drop box. Each
designated ballot retriever shall wear a badge or similar identification that
readily identifies them as a designated ballot retriever. In addition, each
designated ballot retriever must take the following oath prior to retrieving
ballots: "I, __________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and
defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State
of California against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true
faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the
Constitution of the State of California; that I take this obligation freely,
without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and
faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter."
(2) Only designated ballot retrievers and law
enforcement identified by the county elections official may transport the
retrieved voted vote-by-mail ballots.
(3) Upon arrival at a drop box, the two
designated ballot retrievers shall note, on a retrieval form prescribed by the
county elections official, the location and unique identification number of the
drop box and the date and time of arrival.
(4) The designated ballot retrievers shall
retrieve the voted ballots from the drop box and place the voted ballots in a
secure ballot transfer device, retrieve the secure ballot container that is
placed inside the drop box, or retrieve the staffed drop box which also serves
as a secure ballot container.
(5)
If a drop box includes a secure ballot container, the designated ballot
retrievers shall place an empty secure ballot container inside the drop box
prior to departure.
(6) After the
final retrieval after the closing of the polls, an empty secure ballot
container shall not be placed in the drop box, and the drop box should be
locked and/or covered to prevent any further ballots from being
deposited.
(7) The time of
departure from the drop box shall be noted on the form described in (a)(3)
above.
(8) Upon arrival at the
office of the county elections official, a ballot receiving center, a
designated central count location, or a ballot processing location, the
designated ballot retrievers who retrieved the ballots shall note the time of
arrival on the form described in (a)(3) above.
(9) The county elections official, or his or
her designee, shall inspect the secure ballot container for evidence of
tampering and shall receive the retrieved ballots by signing the retrieval
form, and including the date and time of receipt. In the event tampering is
evident, that fact shall be noted on the retrieval form.
(10) The completed retrieval form shall be
attached to the outside of the secure ballot container or maintained in a
manner prescribed by the elections official that ensures that the form is
traceable to its respective secure ballot container.
(11) When the secure container is opened by
the county elections official at the office of the county elections official, a
designated central count location, or a ballot processing location, the number
of ballots retrieved and placed in that secure container shall be noted on the
retrieval form.
(b) The
retrieval form described by this Section may be in an electronic form. In the
event an electronic form is used, the secure container must be identified in a
manner to match the container with the electronic form. In addition, the
elections official must develop a method to capture and retain the required
signatures on the electronic form.
(c) The county elections official shall
provide a copy of their ballot collection and chain of custody procedures to
the Secretary of State's office by the 30th day before the election.
1. New
section filed 1-11-2018; operative 1-11-2018 pursuant to Government Code
section
11343.4(b)(3)
(Register 2018, No. 2).
Note: Authority cited: Section
12172.5,
Government Code; and Sections
10 and
3025,
Elections Code. Reference: Section
3025,
Elections Code; and Article XX, Section
3, California
Constitution.
