This just in: When your candidate loses an election, it means your candidate has lost an election! It’s not proof of fraud, but may, in fact, be proof that you’re a crybaby.

The Orange County grand jury didn’t say it quite that way, but it dropped a surprise early report on Tuesday examining the myriad processes in the Orange County Registrar of Voters’ office.Why? Because of complaints about dead people voting, forged signatures and non-citizens casting ballots. The grand jury concluded that there was no evidence of fraud or election interference in November; that voting was fair, secure and transparent; and went so far as to heap copious praise on the registrar’s office for its stellar work.

“The entire ROV staff is highly commended for their excellent performance in the coordination and management of the 2024 presidential election,” the grand jury said. “Their commitment to best practices supporting voting integrity, meticulous planning and rigorous security measures ensured that the voting process was fair, secure, and transparent. The ROV upheld the highest standards of electoral integrity, thereby reinforcing public trust in this critical institution and setting an example for all government entities to follow in performing their public duties.”

Sweet words in officialdom. But the grand jury is not alone in its observations; the Orange County Republican Party tried to squelch fraud rumors after the election as well.

“We support commonsense reforms such as Voter ID and ending universal vote-by-mail to ensure free and fair elections, but false claims of voter fraud only hurt our efforts and ultimately decrease Republican votes when our voters believe their vote does not count,” the party said in a rumor fact-check on Dec. 11.

Registrar of Voters Bob Page thanked the grand jury for recognizing the office’s “commitment to conducting accessible, fair, accurate, secure and transparent elections,” he said in a prepared statement. “We are dedicated to continuing our tradition of excellence for each and every election we conduct so that we may inspire confidence and trust in the democratic process.”

The grand jury laid out, in significant and perhaps exhaustive detail, how the mechanics of democracy actually works, from the “Logic and Accuracy Test” (that’s when staffers mark 600 test ballots and feed them through the ballot scanners to ensure that the machines function accurately), to the collection of ballots (complete with seals and special drives, collection teams whose movements are tracked by GIS), to scanning, signature verification and tabulation.

Then come the post-count audits, including the “1% Manual Tally” (performed before certification to ensure accuracy), the “Risk Limiting Audits” (an extra step not required by the state that compares individual ballots to the “cast vote record,” to ensure ballots were counted as voters intended), and other tests as well.

For those who see the slowness of official results as a cover for mayhem, the grand jury essentially said, “Chillax.”

There are good reasons why the count takes so long, including that Orange County is the seventh largest voting district in the nation, and its population exceeds that of 21 states. Not to mention that, under California law, results weren’t due until Dec. 5 anyway.

The grand jury found a squeaky clean operation: voter registration logs and voter rolls that were accurate and current; official Ballot Drop Boxes that were secure; a paper trail that could verify every vote cast; and election misinformation that was swiftly addressed via newsletters, press releases and an open-door policy inviting folks in to see for themselves.

The Registrar even installed overhead cameras so (skeptical) observers could see (up close and magnified) exactly what the hands of staffers were doing. Many election activities were live-streamed as well.

So, in summary, complaints spread online were found to be without merit, and the Orange County Registrar of Voters “not only met but exceeded the recommended practices for ensuring voting integrity,” the grand jury said. “Its proactive approach provided major protection against any fraud.”

Page is taking the victory lap.

“For those voters who have concerns, I am hopeful this independent review by the grand jury will help to build trust in the integrity of our elections,” he said.

We hope so, too. It’s easy to believe in election integrity when you win. Perhaps this will help some folks believe in it when they lose.

“A bedrock of our democracy is the right of every eligible citizen to vote safely and easily, and for their vote to count without fear of it being compromised,” the grand jury said.