REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
June 18, 2025
FROM
JOANI FINWALL, Registrar of Voters
SUBJECT
Title
Template Agreements for Installation and Maintenance of Secure Ballot Drop Boxes
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Approve the following four template agreements for the installation and maintenance of the Registrar of Voters’ secure outdoor ballot drop boxes that will be used during elections, with a term of ten years from the date of execution through June 17, 2035, with two five-year extensions:
a. Property Owner Installs/County Locks template, where the property owner installs the ballot drop box and the County locks and unlocks it.
b. Property Owner Installs and Locks template, where the property owner installs, locks, and unlocks the ballot drop box.
c. County Installs/Property Owner Locks template, where the County installs the ballot drop box, and the property owner locks and unlocks it.
d. County Installs and Locks template, where the County installs, locks, and unlocks the ballot drop box.
2. Authorize the Registrar of Voters, Assistant Registrar of Voters, or Chief Deputy Registrar of Voters to adjust the contract term to be less than five years.
3. Authorize the Registrar of Voters, Assistant Registrar of Voters, or Chief Deputy Registrar of Voters to execute the template agreements on behalf of the County with cities and other property owners and make any non-substantive amendments to the template agreements, subject to review by County Counsel.
(Presenter: Joani Finwall, Registrar of Voters, 387-2100)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies and Stakeholders.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of the item will not result in the use of additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The template agreements establish that the County will reimburse the contractor up to $2,000 for the cost to install and eventually remove a ballot drop box. Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the Registrar of Voters’ (ROV) 2024-25 budget and will be included in future recommended budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
On August 25, 2020 (Item No. 60), the Board of Supervisors (Board) approved four template agreements (Agreements) for the installation and maintenance of ROV’s secure outdoor ballot drop boxes that are used during elections. State law had required ROV to provide a minimum number of lockable ballot drop boxes for the November 3, 2020 Presidential General Election.
On July 8, 2024 (Item No. 49), the Board approved Amendment No. 1 for the installation and maintenance of wireless cameras with no change to the contract term or amount.
There are currently over 70 ballot boxes installed throughout the county which provide voters a safe and expedient way to return a voted ballot to the ROV. The ballot drop boxes are only unlocked during election time and remain locked at all other times. The recommended template Agreements will enable the ballot drop boxes to be installed on properties offered by the cities/towns and potentially other public and private property owners.
The difference between the Agreements center on which party will install the ballot drop boxes and which party will unlock and lock the boxes during an election. If the property owner installs and/or removes the ballot drop box, the County will provide a reimbursement of up to $2,000.
Recommendation No. 2 will authorize ROV, Assistant ROV, or Chief Deputy ROV to adjust the contract term to less than five years if the contractor wants to commit to a shorter term.
Recommendation No. 3 would authorize ROV, Assistant ROV, or Chief Deputy ROV to execute the individual agreements and make non-substantive amendments to the templates such as the addition, removal, or moving of drop boxes and the revision of the reimbursement amount, if additional property owner installed drop boxes are added.
PROCUREMENT
N/A
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Jolena Grider, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on May 22, 2025; Finance (Elias Duenas, Administrative Analyst, 387-4052) on May 29, 2025; and County Finance and Administration (Valerie Clay, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on June 2, 2025.