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Church In Castaic Incorrectly Marks Ballot Drop Box Outside Their Building As 'Official'

CASTAIC (CBSLA) -- A Castaic church has been causing some confusion throughout the Los Angeles area after placing a voter drop box outside the building incorrectly marked as "official."

The Los Angeles County Registrar's Office, which supervises the election, confirmed the drop box is not an official location to leave election ballots but officials at Freedom's Way Baptist Church were advertising otherwise.

The registrar said to CBS2 in a statement that the drop box "does not comply with regulations for Official Ballot Drop Boxes, and our office has attempted to reach the pastor of the church. We are working with counsel to issue a cease and desist letter and have reported this to the Secretary of State's Office."

The church's pastor has since removed the box, and although it appears the box itself may be legal, the sign claiming it is "official" was not.

Local politicians have responded to concerns, with the L.A. County Democrats calling it a reflection of President Donald Trump's "desperate tactics" and that the fake ballot boxes were placed in "targeted areas."

The Republican Party of California fired back against allegations that Republicans are to blame.

"The Democrats wrote the law. They set the rules and laid out the chessboard. If Republicans are outplaying them, that's on them, not us," said Hector Barajas, spokesman for the California Republican Party.

If you can't drive or walk to an official drop site for the 2020 Election, or if you're out of town, the law says you can legally give your marked, signed and sealed ballot to anyone that you trust to bring to a drop box or polling place.

"The word 'official' means they got some kind of government approval or activity and that might raise some issues with the appropriate election authorities," said Jack Pitney, Professor of Government at Claremont McKenna College.

Over at a nearby church, Grace Baptist Church in Santa Clarita, they too had a ballot drop box, but it wasn't marked as an official voting drop box location.

To learn more about where the official drop off boxes are located in L.A. County, visit LAvote.net.

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