San Joaquin County Grand Jury San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters “Make Every Vote Count”

Conclusions 1

• CL1
  The issue of the 800 uncounted VBM ballots was brought to light publicly in The Record newspaper column on May 14, 2015, 345 days after the election. The Grand Jury attempted to answer three important questions: (1) What caused the late delivery of approximately 800 VBM ballots from the June 3, 2014, Gubernatorial Election? (2) Why were these same ballots not counted? (3) Did ROV do everything it could to make sure every vote counted? Due to lack of ROV documentation the Grand Jury could not confirm which ROV employees picked up the VBM ballots at Delta Station PO during the 2014 primary election. The ROV blamed the USPS for the late delivery of the ballots in question. The USPS does not guarantee the time it takes for mail to be delivered. Again, a complete lack of documentation prevented the Grand Jury from vetting this claim. The change in the State Election Code effective January 1, 2015 addresses some of the ballot delivery problems, however it does not address ROV’s issues involving procedural documentation and ballot tracking. Equally disturbing, ROV personnel failed to notify the public of the 800 ballots that were received late and not counted. The Grand Jury requested to view the late ballots in question. Jurors were assured the ballots had been isolated. However, when jurors viewed the ballots they learned that all uncounted ballots had been 9 comingled. The Grand Jury could not confirm they actually viewed the 800-plus uncounted VBM ballots the ROV received on June 4, 2014. The arrival of 800 ballots the morning after the election created considerable angst among election officials. It was highly unusual for hundreds of ballots to suddenly appear a day late. Nevertheless, election officials, while not legally required to report late VBM ballots, felt no ethical obligation to announce to the public what had happened. It has been an enlightening journey for the Grand Jury. After numerous interviews and pouring over pages of documents, the Grand Jury cannot point to a specific breakdown in the election process that caused this to occur. However, the Jury has offered several recommendations that it hopes will lead to a better overall system for receiving, tracking and maintaining the security of VBM ballots. The citizens of San Joaquin County deserve a system that ensures and gives them faith again that EVERY VOTE DOES COUNT. Disclaimers Grand Jury reports are based on documentary evidence and the testimony of sworn or admonished witnesses, not on conjecture or opinion. However, the Grand Jury is precluded by law from disclosing such evidence except upon the specific approval of the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court, or another judge appointed by the Presiding Judge (Penal Code section 911. 924.1 (a) and 929). Similarly, the Grand Jury is precluded by law from disclosing the identity of witnesses except upon an order of the court for narrowly defined purposes (Penal Code sections 924.2 and 929). Response Requirements California Penal Code sections 933 and 933.05 require that specific responses to all findings and recommendations contained in this report be submitted to the Presiding Judge of the San Joaquin County Superior Court within 90 days of receipt of the report. The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors shall respond to all Findings and Recommendations in this report. Mail or hand deliver a hard copy of the response to: Honorable José L. Alva, Presiding Judge San Joaquin County Superior Court P. O. Box 201022 Stockton, CA 95201 Also, please email the response to Ms. Trisa Martinez, Staff Secretary to the Grand Jury at grandjury@sjcourts.org Appendices A. Certification of the 2014 Gubernatorial Election 10 11 12

No Responses Found 1

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