SANTA ANA, CA – February 23, 2022 – The Orange County Registrar of Voters will pilot a new ballot tracking feature that will be available at select ballot drop boxes throughout Orange County beginning with the June 7, 2022 Primary Election. The ballot drop boxes used for this trial program will be equipped with a secure barcode scanner, allowing voters to scan their mail ballot envelope as they drop it off.

A voter dropping off their ballot at participating drop box locations will access a barcode scanner installed on the box to scan the printed barcode located on the outside of their ballot envelope. As they deposit their ballot the voter will receive an SMS text message confirming that their ballot was dropped off at the specified ballot drop box. Their ballot will then be tracked from pick-up through the tally process (using existing technology).

The Orange County Registrar of Voters is the first, within its industry, to deploy this type of ballot drop box technology, which is typically used in the medical industry to track tissue samples.  Nine ballot drop boxes will be included in this pilot program – data gathered will be used to inform whether this technology can be expanded across other ballot drop boxes throughout the County.

During the upcoming 2022 Statewide Direct Primary, voters will see the image below on their mail ballot envelope with information about how and where to use this newly available service:

Quote by Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley:

“By providing voters with enhanced visibility on the location of their ballot, I believe this will help to continue boosting voter confidence and improve overall election security,” said Neal Kelley, Registrar of Voters.