Orange County CA will be attaching tech devices to 9 of their most heavily used drop boxes for the June elections. This OC pilot program is an effort to remotely know the number of ballots inside those boxes. The device is a glorified padlock that includes a scanner, cellular modem, and batteries. The first thing you might wonder is why? If OC is collecting ballots on regular or daily basis, why do they need to know the quantities remotely? The simple answer is….they don't.

Here's how it works. A "BoxLock" device the size of a hockey puck is attached to the front of the drop box. Voters who registered for "OC Ballot Express" tracking can walk up to the box, push the button, scan their envelopes bar code, then drop it in the box. Using a cellular modem, the device sends data back to BoxLock in Atlanta. The voter then receives a text message telling them what they already know….they just put a ballot in that box. Wow!

But that isn't entirely true. BoxLock only knows if a bar code was scanned. It doesn't know if an envelope went inside the box. Also, many voters will not sign up for "OC Ballot Express" because it demands their cell phone number. Those who signed up and scanned their envelope are the only ones counted. Some might deposit first and forget the scan. Some might scan but not deposit their envelope. The bottom line is this. BoxLock will only know the number of scans, not the actual number of ballots inside the box.

To view the status of these boxes, staff at the OC Registrar of Voters must have internet access, a browser, or possibly use unsecure cell phones. They must login to the BoxLock software, which could be in Atlanta, or an unknown cloud server location. Staff can then view the scan numbers for each box. This approach adds and exposes another layer of election information over the internet. Fraudsters might gain access to this info as election day approaches. It will help them decide which precincts and boxes are best to stuff, and by how much, so they won't be flagged for excessive voters.