Letter to the Editor — Voting by Mail is Safe

With Election Day coming up, plenty of rumors are floating around the internet and social media. Nevertheless, we should all feel confident our vote-by-mail system is safe and secure.

I’ve seen first-hand the many steps that Contra Costa County takes to ensure election integrity. While participating in their Certified Election Observer program earlier this year, I witnessed security in action at every step, from the moment you drop off your ballot to when it’s counted.

Each voter’s signature is checked against voter registration records. All ballots are scanned by machines that are never connected to the internet and are consistently audited. Ballots are tracked from start to finish—ensuring registered voters only vote once. They also do a 1% manual hand tally to make sure the machines are counting properly.

You can see these state-of-the-art security systems in action at secure-election.org, and sign up to track your ballot at Ballottrax.net, so you can be confident your vote has been received and counted.

Emily Mazza
Concord resident

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