SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California’s chief elections official on Monday ordered Republicans to remove unofficial ballot drop boxes from churches, gun shops and other locations, and Attorney General Xavier Becerra warned those behind the “vote tampering” could face prosecution.

Republicans refused, saying they are taking advantage of California’s liberal ballot collection law that allows anyone to collect ballots from voters and deliver them to county election offices.

“As of right now, we’re going to continue our ballot harvesting program,” California Republican Party spokesman Hector Barajas said.

Due to the coronavirus and concerns about health safety at polling places, California for the first time mailed ballots for the Nov. 3 election to all active registered voters - more than 21 million people. The ballots come with prepaid envelopes for voters to mail back, free of charge.

State law also allows county election officers to set up drop boxes throughout the county where people can drop off their ballots in person. The secure boxes can sometimes weigh more than 600 pounds and are monitored frequently by local election officials.

Republicans have set up their drop boxes at churches, gas stations and gun shops in at least three California counties. Some are identified as “secure ballot drop-off location,” while others say “approved and bought by the GOP.”

The party declined to say precisely how many boxes have been distributed and where they all have been placed.

Secretary of State Alex Padilla, a Democrat, said state law only allows county election officials to set up official ballot drop boxes, with rules for how often the ballots are retrieved. He said these unofficial drop boxes lack those protections, making them vulnerable to tampering.

Padilla had his chief legal counsel send Republicans a letter on Monday ordering them to remove those boxes by Thursday. He also ordered them to provide the state with the names, addresses and birthdays of all voters who have already dropped off ballots.