Trending Topics – San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters

About Election Results

How can I be sure the election results are accurate?

San Bernardino County uses a voting system certified by the California Secretary of State. The State has developed one of the most strenuous voting system testing and certification programs in the country (https://votingsystems.cdn.sos.ca.gov/cert-and-approval/review-testing-overview.pdf). California counties are required to abide by these stringent rules and regulations regarding implementation and use of a voting system.

Why can’t we hand count ballots?

It’s California state law. Assembly Bill 969 prohibits manual vote counting for most elections. However, during the canvass of every election, ROV hand-counts ballots in at least one percent of the precincts and voted mail ballots to audit the accuracy of the ballot scanners.

About Voter Registration Records

How does the Registrar of Voters ensure their voter registration lists are accurate?

It’s the law. California Elections Code mandates specific file maintenance procedures for keeping voter records up-to-date. Not only does the Registrar of Voters perform the state-mandated procedures, but the Registrar of Voters performs a number of optional daily, weekly, and monthly internal audits to identify potential duplicate registration records and invalid registration information.

Why do I receive a ballot for someone who has passed away or moved to a different address?

ROV receives information on deceased voters when notified by the Department of Public Health, the Secretary of State, or third-party notifications, such as the spouse of the deceased, and when notified, ROV processes this information.

By law, ROV sends a notification to voters who have been identified as deceased, serving a prison term for a felony conviction, or those found mentally incompetent to vote 15 to 30 days prior to cancellation. If a signed response from the voter is not received, the record will be cancelled after the response period has passed.

If you receive a ballot at your address for someone who does not live there, please write “Not at This Address” on the envelope and place it in the outgoing mail.

About Voting Technology

What technology will voters use to cast their votes?

All votes will be cast on paper ballots. Voters who cannot mark a paper ballot without assistance may use an accessible ballot-marking device at a polling place.

Are the voting machines used in San Bernardino County connected to the internet?

No. According to California Elections Code section 19205, “no part of a voting system shall be connected to the internet at any time, or electronically receive or transmit election data through any exterior communications network.”

How do we know they are not connected to the internet?

San Bernardino County uses an air-gapped system in its ballot tabulation rooms, meaning the ballot counting equipment is never connected to the internet and is completely separated from any other network. There are no routers connected to the tabulation system and there never have been.

If the voting system is not connected to the internet, why did I receive a message from BallotTrax when I voted at my polling place notifying me that my ballot “was received and counted” before I left the polling place?

Voters receive the status of their ballot by signing up for BallotTrax on the Secretary of State’s website. When voters vote at polling places, they check-in using an electronic roster, which sends a message to BallotTrax, and BallotTrax sends the voter a standardized status message that San Bernardino County cannot change.