Unproven charges of fraud in the 2020 presidential election have led to growing doubts among some U.S. voters about election integrity. The San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder’s Office said it's working to make sure voters feel secure submitting their ballots.
Elaina Cano is the county’s Clerk Recorder. She oversees the team who counts the region’s ballots.
“We ensure that ballots are always within dual custody so that there's always two people with the ballots, if not more. We have multiple surveillance cameras that capture what is happening in the vote by mail area,” Cano said.
SLO County is familiar with ballot recounts. In 2022 a woman petitioned to recount a close race for the District Two supervisor seat. Bruce Gibson won by 13 votes against his opponent Bruce Jones. Nothing amiss was found.
Cano insists local elections are secure and she said voters who are skeptical about the integrity of local elections are welcome to come by the registrar’s office to view the counting process, or to work the polls.
“See what rigorous training they need to go through and the laws that must be abided out at the polls. It's not just people showing up and sitting down and processing voters. They have to go through hours of training and review of different laws and order to ensure the safety and the integrity of the election is being upheld,” she said.
Many people voted early this year. As of last Thursday, the SLO County Clerk Recorder's Office had already received ballots from 41% of registered voters, according to the SLO Tribune.
Results of the general election will be certified December 3.
