The 2010-2011 Ventura County Grand Jury is pleased to announce the public release of a report entitled: Election Process

SUMMARY
The 2010-2011 Ventura County Grand Jury (Grand Jury) conducted an investigation into the election process with a special emphasis on Absentee or Vote By Mail (VBM) voting. The investigation was initiated as part of a statewide request from a Northern California county grand jury to review the VBM process.

The Grand Jury found the electoral process to be complex and lacking in safeguards which would ensure only citizens are allowed to vote. The Grand Jury found minor problems in the setup of the precincts and in the delivery of ballots to the receiving stations during the November 2010 election.

VBM ballots received too late to be processed and verified on or before Election Day are counted post election day. The Grand Jury recommends a campaign to encourage VBM voters to mail their votes in time to be verified and counted on or before Election Day. This will result in a quicker and more accurate tally.

A training class for all precinct workers should be mandatory. The Grand Jury found attendees to be inattentive to instruction and, therefore, recommends a more interactive presentation. Training should include the California Elections Code as it applies to precinct workers.

Errors in vote counting in the November 2010 election caused many to lose confidence in the Registrar of Voters (ROV). These errors would not have occurred with only one type of ballot to count. This loss of confidence was unfortunate because the Grand Jury watched much of the ROV staff as they worked to verify the outcome with complete transparency. Each staff member seemed committed to excellence in assuring that every qualified vote was counted. The fact that they discovered and disclosed the errors and were able to correct them should give voters confidence in the process.

The Grand Jury recommends that the ROV and the BOS investigate the feasibility and economics of countywide VBM as the only voting system.

The VBM process includes verification of signatures between the ballots and the registration roles. Voting at precincts does not include this signature verification nor is any identification required at the precincts. Countywide VBM will also result in considerable financial savings.

In response to the complications in the November 2010 election, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors (BOS) suggested a complete audit of results before certifying future elections. The Grand Jury agrees with this suggestion.

Go to the Grand Jury website to review the entire report: http://grandjury.countyofventura.org