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Board of Elections

Orange County · Board of Elections
Tuesday, October 22, 2024

Regular meeting Elections and districts

Agenda document Minutes Watch Meeting recap

What was decided

  1. Approved Approval of Board Minutes Approved unanimously

Read from the agenda's recorded outcomes. Where the board published minutes, those are the record — this is a pointer to them.

What's on this agenda

Orange County's Board of Elections meets repeatedly during early voting to act on absentee-by-mail ballots. Staff recommend each ballot for approval or rejection, and the board reviews and votes on those recommendations before ballots are run through the tabulator.

Summarized from the published agenda. Read the agenda itself before acting on it.

Meeting recap

What happened, drawn from the records published after the meeting. Minutes

The board approved 824 civilian, 216 overseas and 14 military absentee ballots on October 22, and disapproved 23 civilian absentee ballots. Most of the disapproved ballots, 22, were rejected for incomplete witness information; the remaining one had a photo ID document sealed inside the ballot envelope that the board found did not meet acceptance requirements after reviewing it. Voters whose ballots were rejected for incomplete witness information had already been contacted and issued replacement ballot packages before the vote. A separate envelope with a sealed photo ID issue is still pending contact with the voter.

After the votes, the board watched staff run the approved ballots through the county's tabulator, which ended the night at a count of 2,797. As of the day before the meeting, 23,247 ballots had been cast in early voting across the county's six sites. The board also approved minutes from its October 8 and October 15 meetings and heard from a resident during public comment.

How the votes went

All votes were unanimous. The board approved the October 8 and October 15 minutes; approved 824 civilian, 216 overseas and 14 military absentee ballots; disapproved 23 civilian absentee ballots; and adjourned.

From the published minutes.

Speaking at this meeting

Orange County's own rules for public comment — check them before you rely on anything here.

Agenda items (6)

Procedural · 3Minutes approval · 1Staff or committee report · 1Other · 1
  1. Call to Order
    Procedural
    Chair Jamie Cox called the meeting to order.
  2. Public Comment
    Procedural
    The chair opened the floor for public comment and a resident addressed the board.
  3. Approval of Board Minutes
    Minutes approval Elections and districts
    The board approved the minutes of its October 8 and October 15, 2024 meetings as submitted.
    Approved unanimously
  4. Director's Report
    Staff or committee report Elections and districts
    Director Rachel Raper reported 23,247 ballots cast in early voting as of October 21 across the county's six sites, plus 811 civilian, 216 overseas and 18 military absentee-by-mail ballots recommended for approval. She also flagged 14 civilian ballots pending review over photo ID documents possibly sealed inside the envelope, and 22 civilian ballots recommended for disapproval over incomplete witness information.
  5. Board Action on Absentee Ballots
    Other Elections and districts
    After reviewing the envelopes with possibly-sealed photo ID documents, the board found 13 met acceptance requirements and one did not. The board then disapproved 23 civilian absentee ballots for incomplete witness information, and approved 824 civilian, 216 overseas and 14 military absentee ballots following bipartisan review. Staff then ran the approved ballots through the tabulator, ending the night at a count of 2,797.
    824 civilian, 216 overseas and 14 military ballots approved; 23 civilian ballots disapproved
  6. Adjournment
    Procedural
    The board adjourned. Its next meeting is scheduled for October 29 at 5 p.m.

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