Situation Room: When two physical security incidents struck L.A. County just before the June primary, established procedures kept voting on track.
Resource Library:Ballot Drop Box Security Best Practices provides practical guidance for maintaining secure ballot drop boxes throughout the voting period.
Planning Desk: A walk-through of administration facilities with fresh eyes can reveal vulnerabilities that surface over time and otherwise go unnoticed.
Resilience Lessons from L.A. County
Just days before the June 2 California primary, Los Angeles Countyelection officials responded to two separate physical security incidents over the same weekend.
On Sunday morning, May 31, election workers retrieving ballots from a downtown Los Angeles ballot drop box found that some of the ballots had sustained fire-related damage. In a separate incident, election workersdiscovered a shattered windowat a vote center in Long Beach.
According to L.A. County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan, staff immediately followed established response procedures. The vote center opened on time with no disruptions to voting. Long Beach police determined that the broken window, which opened into an exterior storage room, was an isolated act with no connection to the election.
In reviewing the drop box incident, officials noted that the heavy-gauge steel construction and baffled design of the drop box contained the fire and limited the damage. Election officials secured the affected ballots, maintained the chain of custody, and began contacting voters to issue replacement ballots or direct them to in-person voting options. Because pickup from the drop box is frequent, only a small number of ballots were affected.
L.A. County Board Chair Hilda Solis underlinedpotential criminal penaltiesand ongoing cooperation with law enforcement as the investigation into the incidents continues.
While neither incident appears to have had a significant impact on voting operations, both provided a real-world test of existing security controls, contingency procedures, and response plans. In each case, election officials identified the issue, coordinated with law enforcement, followed established protocols, and continued operations without interrupting voting.
Key Takeaways for Election Officials
Security controls should be built on the assumption that incidents will occur. Use surveillance systems, chain-of-custody, and response plans to limit the impact when something does happen, ensuring election operations can continue and minimizing disruption to voters.
Investigate before reacting. Not every incident at a voting location is an attack on the election process. Coordinating quickly with law enforcement helps establish the facts, supports appropriate public messaging, and prevents unnecessary speculation. Build those relationships before you need them.
Clear communication builds confidence. By explaining what happened, describing the safeguards in place, and outlining the steps taken to protect voters, election officials can reduce confusion and maintain public trust. Develop ready-to-use public communications that explain security features and ballot replacement procedures.
Regular pick-ups limit impact. Frequent ballot collections from drop boxes, especially during the final high-volume days before Election Day, reduce the amount of time ballots are at risk and allow election officials to identify and respond to problems quickly. Evaluate collection schedules to ensure timely retrieval and monitoring of drop boxes.
The Situation Room focuses on real security incidents and threats in the news relevant to election security. To review previous issues, see thenewsletter archive.
Ballot Drop Box Security Best Practices
Ballot drop boxes continue to be a target for vandalism, tampering, and other security incidents, underlining the importance of strong physical security measures and contingency planning.
CISA’s Ballot Drop Box Security Best Practiceshelp election officials strengthen physical security while maintaining voter access. It covers the full voting period, including:
Selecting secure locations with good visibility and lighting.
Monitoring drop boxes through cameras, regular inspections, and documented security checks.
Establishing clear chain-of-custody procedures for ballot collection.
Coordinating with law enforcement and facility partners.
Developing response plans for suspicious activity, vandalism, or other security incidents.
The Resource Library section of the newsletter spotlights election security resources. All highlighted resources are available online in the Resource Library.
Week E-19: Take a walk-through!
Election officials spend a lot of time behind desks, in meetings, and focused on spreadsheets. Daily routines and workplace familiarity can prevent staff from noticing security gaps that someone looking for vulnerabilities might spot immediately. It is surprisingly easy to stop seeing the things we encounter every day.
Election offices invest significant time and resources in securing elections. One simple and effective way to strengthen that effort is to take a walk. A deliberate walk-through of administrative facilities is an opportunity to look at familiar spaces from a fresh perspective.
Actions You Can Take
Get some sunshine. Walk the parking lot, loading areas, public entrances, and ballot drop-off locations. Look at the facility the way a first-time visitor would. Are there poorly lit areas?Could someone accidentally enter a restricted space?Are cameras positioned where they need to be? Many vulnerabilities are not sophisticated but often the result of routine conditions that have gone unnoticed over time.
Follow the ballot. Trace the path of a ballot from receipt through sorting, processing, tabulation, and storage. At each step, ask: Who has access? How is access controlled? What documentation exists? Identify any part of the path that is blind to camera coverage, and prepare to explain and demonstrate security to observers, stakeholders, and the public.
Notice the little things. Look for the small operational issues that have become habit: a door propped open during busy periods, supplies blocking a camera, an inconsistent visitor sign-in process, or equipment stored where it creates unnecessary access concerns. Individually, these may seem minor. Collectively, they can create vulnerabilities or undermine public confidence.
Bring a team. Enlist staff from different areas of the office or other departments to walk with you. Facility reviews are more effective when conducted with people who work in different parts of the operation, as they often notice things others tend to miss.
Think beyond today. Consider how the facility would function during a disruption. What happens if power is lost, a room becomes inaccessible, or a key staff member is unavailable? The goal is to identify obvious gaps while there is still time to address them.
Document and prioritize. Record any physical or operational concerns, and prioritize improvements you can complete before your next election.
Additional Resources
The Security Assessment Checklist, from the Committee for Safe and Secure Elections (CSSE), walks through perimeter security, building access, surveillance, ballot security, visitor management, mail handling, and continuity planning.
CISA’sPhysical Security Checklist for Election Offices assists in a self-assessment of facility security, access controls, surveillance, incident response, suspicious mail procedures, and continuity planning.
The Planning Desk is a running timeline of key election security tasks. You can find prior editions in thenewsletter archive.
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