A San Diego County ballot drop box left on a roadside more than a week after Election Day raised concerns among nearby residents who questioned whether ballots placed inside had been properly collected.
The official drop box was still in place Friday on Hilton Head Road near the entrance to Hilton Head County Park in Rancho San Diego. The June 2 election had already ended days earlier, leaving some locals uneasy about why the box had not been removed.
Stephanie Melaney, who lives in the area, said she first noticed the box on Thursday and was surprised to see it still standing there.
“To me, it was actually very alarming that there’s a ballot box still here this length of time, and it’s not been picked up,” Melaney told CBS.
Her main concern was whether voters who used the box could be sure their ballots had actually made it to election officials.
“If somebody in the neighborhood put a ballot in here, do they have any assurance that it was picked up, or it’s still just sitting there?” she said.
The San Diego County Registrar of Voters responded by saying the ballots had been collected and secured on Election Day.
According to the Registrar’s Office, the drop box was open for voters from May 5 through June 2. Officials said the box was locked at 8 p.m. on Election Day, and election workers retrieved all ballots from it that same night.
The office emphasized that the container was empty and locked, even though the box itself remained at the location after the election.
County officials also said temporary drop boxes placed at county parks are usually removed between elections, but they are designed to remain secure while they are in place. The boxes are secured with heavy-duty chains and anchored to concrete pads or other fixed structures to prevent theft or tampering.
The Registrar’s Office said it is not unusual for some drop boxes to stay at their locations for a period after voting has ended. Officials said the Rancho San Diego box was scheduled to be removed Friday afternoon.
Melaney, however, said she believes the box should have been taken away immediately after voting ended.
“It should have been picked up on June 2 in the evening,” she said.
She also questioned whether the location was appropriate, since the box was placed near a park entrance rather than inside or directly beside a heavily used public building.
The Registrar’s Office defended the site, saying all county drop box locations are chosen to meet accessibility and security standards. Officials said the design and placement of the boxes comply with the requirements used across the county.
Despite the concerns, election officials maintained that no ballots were left inside the box after Election Day and that it had remained locked and secured while awaiting removal.
The same drop box location is expected to be used again ahead of San Diego County’s Nov. 3 general election.