California Code of Regulations › Title 2 - Administration › Division 7 - Secretary of State › Chapter 3 - Voting Locations › Article 1 - Vote-By-Mail Ballot Drop Boxes and Vote-By-Mail Drop-off Locations › Section 20137 - Ballot Collection Procedures and Chain of Custody

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 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.