Wednesday's Kern County Board of Supervisors meeting resulted in the approval of roughly $2.7 million to go toward installing security cameras and other equipment for use during election season.
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00:00 In local election news, Wednesday's Board of Supervisors meeting resulted in the approval of roughly $2.7 million to go toward installing security cameras and other equipment for use during election season.
00:13 The cameras will be used to monitor drop-off ballot boxes. According to county officials, requests for the cameras came from the public after concerns remained following the 2020 presidential election.
00:24 In addition to the cameras, the money is also going toward new sorting equipment. County officials say these updates will provide more transparency with the public while helping process vote-by-mail ballots.
00:35 Auditor-Controller County Clerk Amy Espinoza says although the budget was just approved yesterday, discussions on how the money should be spent have already started.
00:45 We are in the works of having that installed now. We're looking at some electrical upgrades and different things that we need to get in place before the actual equipment can be installed.
00:54 We're also doing the cameras at drop boxes. We have 17 locations throughout Kern County and we're looking to add a few more locations that are still in the works as far as where those will be located.
01:07 Espinoza says although security concerns have risen since the last election, there hasn't been any history of fraudulent activity with local elections.
01:17 The next major election is the 2024 presidential primary in March. By that time, the county says all cameras should be up and running.