This just in: When your candidate loses an election, it means your candidate has lost an election! It’s not proof of fraud, but may, in fact, be proof that you’re a crybaby.
The Orange County grand jury didn’t say it quite that way, but it dropped a surprise early report on Tuesday, Jan. 7, examining the myriad processes in the Orange County Registrar of Voters’ office.
Why? Because of complaints about dead people voting, forged signatures and non-citizens casting ballots. The grand jury concluded that there was no evidence of fraud or election interference in November; that voting was fair, secure and transparent; and went so far as to heap copious praise on the registrar’s office for its stellar work.
“The entire ROV staff is highly commended for their excellent performance in the coordination and management of the 2024 presidential election,” the grand jury said.
“Their commitment to best practices supporting voting integrity, meticulous planning and rigorous security measures ensured that the voting process was fair, secure, and transparent. The ROV upheld the highest standards of electoral integrity, thereby reinforcing public trust in this critical institution and setting an example for all government entities to follow in performing their public duties.”
Sweet words in officialdom. But the grand jury is not alone in its observations; the Orange County Republican Party tried to squelch fraud rumors after the election as well.
“We support commonsense reforms such as Voter ID and ending universal vote-by-mail to ensure free and fair elections, but false claims of voter fraud only hurt our efforts and ultimately decrease Republican votes when our voters believe their vote does not count,” the party said in a rumor fact-check on Dec. 11.
OC Registrar of Voters Bob Page in October. All activity is recorded on screens, above, in real time. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)Registrar of Voters Bob Page thanked the grand jury for recognizing the office’s “commitment to conducting accessible, fair, accurate, secure and transparent elections,” he said in a prepared statement. “We are dedicated to continuing our tradition of excellence for each and every election we conduct so that we may inspire confidence and trust in the democratic process.”
The grand jury laid out, in significant and perhaps exhaustive detail, how the mechanics of democracy actually works, from the “Logic and Accuracy Test” (that’s when staffers mark 600 test ballots and feed them through the ballot scanners to ensure that the machines function accurately), to the collection of ballots (complete with seals and special drives, collection teams whose movements tracked by GIS), to scanning, signature verification and tabulation.
Ballot duplication workers at the OC Registrar of Voters office in Santa Ana on Oct. 29. They address issues with mail-in ballots that are damaged or not marked properly by duplicating them so they can be scanned into the system. The originals are marked “original,” and the duplicates are marked “duplicate.” (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)Then come the post-count audits, including the “1% Manual Tally” (performed before certification to ensure accuracy), the “Risk Limiting Audits” (a extra step not required by the state that compares individual ballots to the “cast vote record,” to ensure ballots were counted as voters intended), and other tests as well.
For those who see the slowness of official results as a cover for mayhem, the grand jury essentially said, “Chillax.”
There are good reasons why the count takes so long, including that Orange County is the seventh largest voting district in the nation, and its population exceeds that of 21 states. Not to mention that, under California law, results weren’t due until Dec. 5 anyway.
A voter drops off a ballot in front of the Orange County registrar’s office in Santa Ana in March. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)The grand jury found a squeaky clean operation: voter registration logs and voter rolls that were accurate and current; official Ballot Drop Boxes that were secure; a paper trail that could verify every vote cast; and election misinformation that was swiftly addressed via newsletters, press releases and an open-door policy inviting folks in to see for themselves.
The Registrar even installed overhead cameras so (skeptical) observers could see (up close and magnified) exactly what the hands of staffers were doing. Many election activities were live-streamed as well.
So, in summary, complaints spread online were found to be without merit, and the Orange County Registrar of Voters “not only met but exceeded the recommended practices for ensuring voting integrity,” the grand jury said. “Its proactive approach provided major protection against any fraud.”
Page is taking the victory lap. “For those voters who have concerns, I am hopeful this independent review by the grand jury will help to build trust in the integrity of our elections,” he said.
We hope so, too. It’s easy to believe in election integrity when you win. Perhaps this will help some folks believe in it when they lose.
“A bedrock of our democracy is the right of every eligible citizen to vote safely and easily, and for their vote to count without fear of it being compromised,” the grand jury said.
Workers process ballots at the Orange County Registrar of Voters in Santa Ana, CA on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Workers process ballots at the Orange County Registrar of Voters in Santa Ana, CA on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Workers process ballots at the Orange County Registrar of Voters in Santa Ana, CA on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Workers process ballots at the Orange County Registrar of Voters in Santa Ana, CA on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Workers process ballots at the Orange County Registrar of Voters in Santa Ana, CA on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Vote-by-mail ballots are extracted from their envelopes and are then scanned for counting at the OC Registrar of Voters office in Santa Ana on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. Damaged ballots or ballots not marked properly are duplicated so they can be scanned into the system. The originals are marked “original,” and the duplicates are marked “duplicate.” (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
OC Registrar of Voters Bob Page gives a media tour of the Santa Ana facility on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. At the ballot extraction area, after voter signatures are verified, the vote-by-mail ballots are opened, seperated, and grouped by precinct. All activity is recorded on screens in real time. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Ballot duplication workers at the OC Registrar of Voters office in Santa Ana on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, address issues with mail-in ballots that are damaged or not marked properly by duplicating them so they can be scanned into the system. The originals are marked “original,” and the duplicates are marked “duplicate.” (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Workers extract vote-by-mail ballots from their envelopes and are prepared to be scanned for counting at the OC Registrar of Voters office in Santa Ana on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A worker logs in information from dropbox bags at the OC Registrar of Voters office in Santa Ana on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. All activity is recorded and projectied on nearby screens in real time. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Vote-by-mail ballots are scanned in by workers so they can be counted at the OC Registrar of Voters office in Santa Ana on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. Once they have entered this room they have already been signature checked and inspected by another group of people. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
An official ballot drop box sits outside the Orange County Registrar of Voters in Santa Ana, CA on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Huy Nguyen, an Orange County Registrar of Voters staff member, scans test ballots into a Verity Scan device on Friday, February 9, 2024, in Santa Ana. The marked test ballots and scanning are part of a state-mandated logic and accuracy testing of the machines and processes of the OC Registrar of Voters, which is done for California’s upcoming March 5th primary. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Voter registration from grand jury report
A Verity Scan device lets an Orange County Registrar of Voters staff member know that it is processing a test ballot on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, in Santa Ana. The scanners are used in voting centers throughout Orange County on election day. The marked test ballots and scanning are part of a state-mandated logic and accuracy testing of the machines and processes of the OC Registrar of Voters, which is done for California’s upcoming March 5th primary. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A Verity Scan device lets an Orange County Registrar of Voters staff member know that it has scanned and recorded a test ballot on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, in Santa Ana. The scanners are used in voting centers throughout Orange County on election day. The marked test ballots and scanning are part of a state-mandated logic and accuracy testing of the machines and processes of the OC Registrar of Voters, which is done for California’s upcoming March 5th primary. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
James Wight, right, reads names and numbers to Danyette Sayles, both Orange County Registrar of Voters staff members, as they check the accuracy of scanned test ballots from Verity Scan devices that are used in voting centers throughout Orange County, on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, in Santa Ana. The marked test ballots and scanning are part of a state-mandated logic and accuracy testing of the machines and processes of the OC Registrar of Voters, which is done for California’s upcoming March 5th primary. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
An Orange County Registrar of Voters staff member demonstrates the scanning of a test ballot with a Verity Scan device on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, in Santa Ana. The marking of test ballots and scanning are part of a state-mandated logic and accuracy testing of the machines and processes of the OC Registrar of Voters, which is done for the upcoming election California’s March 5 primary. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
An Orange County Registrar of Voters staff member demonstrates the scanning of a test ballot with a Verity Scan device on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, in Santa Ana. The marking of test ballots and scanning are part of a state-mandated logic and accuracy testing of the machines and processes of the OC Registrar of Voters, which is done for the upcoming election California’s March 5 primary. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Show Caption1 of 20Workers process ballots at the Orange County Registrar of Voters in Santa Ana, CA on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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