The California Republican Party admitted to putting up approximately 50 deceptively labeled “Official” ballot drop boxes in multiple Southern California counties last week, boxes that they say they will not be removing despite contention over their legality. 

The boxes were reported to be spotted in various areas of Orange, Ventura, Fresno and Los Angeles counties.

Hector Barajas, a spokesperson for the California Republican Party, acknowledged the parties actions saying, “According to the California law as it relates to ballot harvesting–we haven’t broken any laws. It allows for any individual organization or group to collect ballots on behalf of voters…. [This is a] safe option for casting a ballot.” 

Fresno County Republican Chair, Fred Venderhoof, doubled down on this notion. “We are doing nothing illegal,” he claimed. “The whole ballot harvesting law is purposely designed very loosely so the Democrats can cheat, which they are doing in large numbers. They can do ballot harvesting, but we can’t. That’s what they’re saying. So they’re hypocritical.”

According to state officials though, they have broken California laws. Cease-and-desist orders were sent last Monday by California’s secretary of state, Alex Padilla, and Attorney General Xavier Becerra, ordering the removal of the boxes by Oct. 14. 

Padilla said these unauthorized boxes were intended to “…mislead voters and erode the public trust.” He also reminded officials in a memo that the creation of illegal polling sites was a felony punishable by up to four years in prison.

“Tampering with the vote is illegal, and anyone who knowingly engages in tampering or misuse of the vote is subject to prosecution,” Becerra said, reiterating Padilla.  

The official vote-by-mail ballot drop boxes have extensive requirements regarding design, use, and security. Some of those include: required construction from durable material meant to mitigate vandalism, tampering or inclement weather, and a unique identifying number that is readily visible.

The California Republican Party asserted it will not be reversing its actions. GOP spokesperson Barajas said that having their own ballot boxes is a safer alternative than having “…a complete stranger go[ing] into [your house].” The unofficial boxes were placed at churches, gun shops and other businesses. The Orange County Register reported that in Fresno county, the boxes could be found outside of the Republican Party’s own offices. 

Other states have also been facing controversies over absentee voting via drop boxes. A federal panel of judges upheld an order from Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott to limit official drop boxes to one box per county. The Gov. cited “uniformity” and “security” as concerns leading to  his gubernatorial order. 

 “They have no confidence in their ability to win without cheating,” said Lillie Schechter, chairwoman of the Democratic Party in Harris County, which contains the city of Houston. “The whole game at this point is voter suppression and sowing confusion.” 

Texas is the second most populous state in the nation, home to 29 million people. Harris County, with a population of 4.7 million and Dallas County with 2.6 million, will only receive one drop box each to accept votes for the entire county. Harris county had already set up 12 ballot drop box sites and was forced to reduce their locations to just one. 

Ohio’s Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose claimed he wanted to install more than one dropbox per county, but state law prohibited him from doing so. 

Brad Raffensperger, Georgia secretary of state, did install an additional 144 ballot boxes in his state after concerns that there would not be enough poll workers to staff the election because of COVID-19.

In Sonoma County, there have been no reported cases of unauthorized drop boxes. County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor Deva Marie Proto said, “We have not seen any ballot drop boxes in Sonoma County that are not authorized by our office. And despite social media posts, the staffed ballot drop box next to our [office] front door is perfectly legitimate, and is there to try and limit the number of people in our office.”

Sonoma State University has one ballot drop box located on campus by the flagpole near the East Cotati Avenue entrance. According to an email sent out updating students and faculty on Oct. 12, from now through Election Day, anyone can drop off any California ballot in this box, not just Sonoma County ballots. You do not need a parking pass to use the Ballot Dropbox. 

To find ballot box locations, visit: https://caearlyvoting.sos.ca.gov.