El Dorado County elections office moves, improving public access

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - As the 133,171 registered voters in El Dorado County prepare to cast a ballot for the November 5 election, work is being done behind the scenes to ensure a quick and transparent process.

This year, the county's elections office changed locations, from the County Government Center in Placerville to a County building in Shingle Springs. The new location is newer, with large windows, and plenty of space for processing ballots, and it provides an easy way for the public to watch the tabulation of ballots.

As the election draws near, over 185 people are being trained to supply election-day support at voting centers across the county. While many counties have a lack of people interested in working during the election, El Dorado County has no problem and there is a waiting list to fill positions if needed.

"We are very fortunate," said Linda Webster of the number of temporary workers in the county. She is the current assistant Registrar of Voters and will be taking over for the retiring Registrar of Voters, Bill O'Neill in January.

O'Neill said they welcome the public to stop by and watch the ballot counting process, or tune in online to watch it through the cameras they have installed in the new offices. Live streaming will begin October 9, 2024 when the first ballots are delivered for tallying.

The public can visit the Elections Office and observe the process from behind stanchions or windows, depending on which part of the procedure one is watching.

As ballots are retrieved from boxes and the mail from across the county, they'll arrive at the elections office in canvas bags, go right through glass doors, and into a large secured area where they never leave. The ballots will be put into tubs in batches of 300. At this time ALL signatures are checked on the outside of the envelopes. This process is done by machine which approves about 50 percent of them. The rest are verified by election workers sitting at desks who look at computers for how the voter signed their registration cards. The ballots that need that second look are put into red tubs.

Once the signatures are verified, they are placed in blue tubs for sorting.

Ballots placed into black tubs means they cannot be touched - the signature doesn't match and they must reach out to the voter first.

The ballots are put into batches of 100 and placed in the green tubs. This is the first time the envelopes are opened.

A recent elections town hall meeting held at the Shingle Springs office was well attended, with many curious about the process.

While residents of El Dorado County may tend to be "naysayers" at times, one thing they don't complain about is the clean and secure voting process, according to O'Neill and Webster.

The opened ballots are placed into a sorter that can process up to 12,000 per hour. These machines are staffed at levels depending on how many ballots are going through.

Each yellow or green tub is audited along the way, with several eyes on the count at each station.

"No ballot will be left behind," said O'Neill.

The ballots are counted in the same big room with windows for the public to watch through. They stay in their batches with the audit sheet accompanying their journey. Staff looks at the ballot to put them in the same orientation, and put them through the system.

If something goes wrong with he bubbles, or a ballot is damaged, a new ballot is created as a "duplicate" with the same ballot serial number.

The ballots move through the tabulator, then get sealed in the same batches they started with along with the audit form. They will only be unsealed if there is a recount, a count by court order, or an audit.

Only three seasoned staff members have access to the tabulation room, and only one person can log onto the tabulator and fill out the paperwork.

If someone happens to show up to vote and the computer says they've already voted, staff can pull the envelope and show the voter. O'Neill said every time this has happened the voter has forgotten they already voted.

If a ballot comes through with two bubbles filled out, or some other markings, staff in the final room determines the intent of the voter. If it cannot be determined, the rest of the ballot counts but not where they have overvoted or mismarked the ballot. If none of the boxes/bubbles are correct, the ballot results in "not counted."

In the tabulation room and adjudication room, there is no internet and all computers are run with an internal wire.

All ballots are left sealed and boxed. In a federal election, they are kept for 22 months, six months for state and local elections.

In California, people can register to vote at a polling place on the day of the election. People register in the area they live in and expect to return to after a vote is cast, and where their vehicle is registered.

To note, if receiving a ballot in the mail, either mail it or drop it in a special vote drop box. If dropped off at a polling place/vote center in a sealed envelope, the votes are not counted until after election day as the above process must be completed. If at a polling place, go ahead and check in and fill out a ballot for quick processing.

For more information on the election, visit the El Dorado County election page at https://www.eldoradocounty.ca.gov/County-Government/Elections.