Gene Kent, John Rodriguez, Nilima Gupta, Barbara Cleary Dianne Senechal, Christine Schaefer, Virginia Zlaket, Linda

Commendations 14

• CM1
  There were two visits to four juvenile detention facilities for overview, inspection, and dissemination of questionnaire responses.
• CM2
  Questionnaire data was analyzed.
• CM3
  Meetings and Interviews were held with the following:  Upper level management of the Probation Department, directors, staff, teachers, and juvenile wards in each residential facility  Attendance at the Probation Department and Orange County Department of Education Meeting, (Dec. 17, 2012)  Interview with Orange County Department of Education Alternative Correctional Community Education Schools and Services representative (ACCESS), (Jan. 7, 2013)  Orange county Probation Department Meeting with the Orange County Grand Jury Criminal Justice Committee (Oct. 9, 2012)
• CM4
  Research:  Grand Jury Standards of Review of Jails and Juvenile Detention Centers Fiscal Year (FY) 2011-2012  Orange County Probation Department 2012 Business Plan  Orange County Grand Jury 2011-2012 Final Report, Juvenile Detention and Treatment Facilities  Orange County Juvenile Justice Commission Report 2011  “Orange County Register” articles on juvenile detention centers  Office of Independent Review Juvenile Hall 2012 Incident Report  Youth Law Center of San Francisco and Georgetown University, Early Learning Center Collaboration Report
• CM5
  Phone Interviews with:  Youth Guidance Center Management  Joplin Youth Center Management  Orange County Probation Department Juvenile Division  Orange County Probation Department, Administrative and Fiscal Division Management BACKGROUND AND FACTS Five juvenile detention centers are discussed in this study: 1) Los Pinos 2) Juvenile Hall 3) Youth Leadership Academy 4) Youth Guidance Center 5) Joplin Youth Center 2012 – 2013 Orange County Grand Jury Page 208 of 360 Detention Facilities Part II: How Do We Know If We Are Taking Care Of Our At-Risk Juveniles? Los Pinos Conservation Camp Los Pinos located on Ortega Highway in Lake Elsinore, was closed June 30,
• CM6
  More vote-by-mail ballots were received than were cast at polling places in Orange County during a Presidential election.
• CM7
  For the first time, more than 50 percent of vote-by-mail ballots were from permanent vote-by-mail voters.
• CM8
  More vote-by-mail ballots (112,000) were dropped off at polling places than ever before.
• CM9
  All sample ballots were mailed on the first day legally allowed.
• CM10
  Although the legal period to certify election results is much longer, the Registrar of Voters was able to certify after just 14 days. The increase in vote-by-mail had the biggest impact on this election than any other statistical factor. There was a 10.5 percent increase of vote-by-mail ballots counted in 2012 (575,843) compared to 2008 (521,348). Vote-by-mail ballots represented 34.3 percent of all registered voters. Vote- by-mail ballots were 50.8 percent of ballots cast. 72.9 percent of vote-by-mail ballots mailed to voters were cast. Polling place ballots cast decreased by 11.6 percent from 2008 (624,181) to 2012 (552,018) due to the increase in vote-by-mail participation. 2 Memorandum from O.C. Registrar dated December 17, 2012 2012 – 2013 Orange County Grand Jury Page 345 of 360 Registrar of Voters Earns High Marks for 2012 Election For more information about Orange County’s election process the reader is encouraged to visit the Registrar of Voters website at www.ocvote.com. This outstanding website covers the entire voting process. Voters can register to vote, view newsletters showing various phases of the election process, read newsletters that update volunteers on the election, and see many charts of almost any statistic on registrations and elections any user would want to see. Disaster Preparedness Hurricane Sandy was a super storm that devastated parts of the Caribbean, Mid- Atlantic and New England during the latter part of October 2012. The storm affected 24 U.S. states that included the entire eastern seaboard. Particularly hard hit were the States of New Jersey and NEW YORK — Power New York. Much of the devastation resulted from wind generators are being damage, flooding and loss of electrical power. In terms marshaled, polling of economic loss, the storm is estimated to have locations moved and caused over $71.4 billion dollars in damage.3 voting machines hurriedly put into place as officials prepare to hold an national Although governors in those states issued election in storm-ravaged disaster declarations in advance of the storm that sections of New York and struck in earnest on October 29th, election officials were New Jersey barely a week after Superstorm Sandy. faced with a daunting task: the presidential election was one week away. Officials scrambled to move --Huffington Post article polling places to locations with electrical power, November 4, 2012 curtailed early voting, closed registration offices, and increased the use of provisional ballots.4,5 Scholars with the Voting Technology Project at the California Technical Institute issued a post 2012 election update and recommended that “…local election officials must study the disruptions caused by Hurricane Sandy, examine how election officials in the affected states reacted to those disruptions, and develop contingency plans for dealing with similar emergencies in the future.”6 The Grand Jury wanted to see if Orange County officials were prepared for an emergency similar in scope to Hurricane Sandy such as a major earthquake, wildfire or Santa Ana Wind event. The Grand Jury spoke with officials at the Registrar of Voters’ Office and the County’s Emergency Operations Center. Relevant plans and documents were then examined. 3 Hurricane Sandy article, retrieved 2/8/13 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Sandy 4 Fabian, J. and Deruy, E., ABC News dated 10/30/12, retrieved 2/8/13 from http://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/Politics/hurricane-sandy-push-back-election-day/story?id=17598371&page=2 5 Halbfinger, D., Kaplan, T. and Ruderman, W. The New York Times dated 11/5/12, retrieved 2/8/13 from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/06/nyregion/after-hurricane-sandy-efforts-to-help-the-displaced-vote.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 6 Alvarez, R. et al, (CalTech, MIT & University of Utah) retrieved 2/13/13, from http://vote.caltech.edu/content/voting-what-has- changed-what-hasnt-what-needs-improvement 2012 – 2013 Orange County Grand Jury Page 346 of 360 Registrar of Voters Earns High Marks for 2012 Election The Orange County Registrar of Voters has a plan titled, “Business Continuity Plan for Business Processes.” The 150-page document includes checklists, tables, scenarios and a resource guide that provide direction to maintain stability in the event of disaster or other unusual circumstance.7 It was refreshing for the Grand Jury to see that the plan was created and in place prior to events on the East Coast. Review of the Registrar of Voters disaster preparedness procedures showed that they are prepared for most anticipated emergencies; however, a disaster of the size of Hurricane Sandy would probably be more than the Registrar of Voters’ staff could handle alone and would have to be coordinated through the County’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The Grand Jury toured the EOC and studied emergency response plans and protocols for dealing with major disasters most likely to strike Orange County. The EOC coordinates emergency response from law enforcement, fire, health services, public works and other disciplines as needed. 8 During the Grand Jury’s tour of the EOC, they were shown documentation relating to procedures for dealing with major disasters and the required coordination that takes place to timely address concerns, as they arise. The obvious major disaster that could occur in Orange County is “the big one.” A major earthquake that disrupts the distribution of electrical power throughout Orange County preceding an election could have devastating effects. While the election could be conducted on paper instead of electronically, it is not known whether sufficient paper ballots would be available for all voters able to make it to the polls. Presently, paper ballots are distributed to polling places to accommodate a percentage of the voting public. The number of ballots distributed is based on historical need.9 DENVER (AP) — State Voter Fraud officials in key presidential battleground states have found only a tiny fraction of Earl K. Long was a three-time governor of the the illegal voters they State of Louisiana.10 Quotes attributed to him include: “I initially suspected existed. can make them voting machines sing “Home Sweet Searches in Colorado and Home””11 and “When I die, I want to be buried in St. Florida have yielded Martin’s Parish so I can remain politically active.” 12 numbers that amount to less than one-tenth of 1 While amusing, these quotes underscore widespread percent of all registered allegations and concerns about “voter fraud.” The voters in either state. Grand Jury researched the topic, finding that actual voter fraud is greatly exaggerated. -- Ivan Moreno Associated Press 9/24/12 7 The business continuity plan covers topics such as absentee ballot processing, ballot generation, candidate filing, voter supply distribution, media relations, and poll site support and information technology systems. 8 9 Per Registrar of Voters 10 Retrieved 2/8/13, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Long 11 Quotation retrieved 2/8/13 from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/e/earl_long.html#5wOAvSrtMpSmoOO6.99 12 Hartford Courant, retrieved 2/8/13 from http://articles.courant.com/2000-11-14/features/0011140283_1_secretaries-touch-football- rose-kennedy 2012 – 2013 Orange County Grand Jury Page 347 of 360 Registrar of Voters Earns High Marks for 2012 Election While the Registrar of Voters felt that voter fraud issues were minor (the few cases of possible voter fraud would not have changed the election result) due to the many checks and cross checks with both internal and external data, the Grand Jury did much research in this area. A report titled The Truth About Voter Fraud by Justin Levitt published in 2007 by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University of Law provided much good information and was consistently referenced by other reports on the subject. The report stated that many issues are often combined under the umbrella of “voter fraud.” These issues include irregularities such as: errors in the poll books, errors in registration records, unintentional dual registrations, and issues dealing with criminal and death records. The most common type of voter irregularity involved vote-by-mail. In some instances the voter forgot they had mailed in the vote-by-mail ballot and went to their polling place with the intension of voting. Those common errors are easily caught in Orange County because of the cross-checking of voter lists that follows after the election. Actual “voter fraud” perpetuated by “individual voters is a singularly foolish and ineffective way to attempt to win an election.”13 Each act of voter fraud in connection with a federal election risks five years in prison and a $10,000 fine, in addition to any state penalties. 14 Actual voter fraud large enough to affect the outcome of an election requires a significant degree of conspiracy and organization. The ability to keep secret such a large-scale operation is directly affected by the number of people who know about it. Common sense dictates that such a criminal enterprise would come to the attention of federal and local authorities. Common examples of actual voter fraud consist of faulty voter registration documents, registration collectors completing voter registration documents without the registrant’s permission, and destruction of voter registration documents by registration collectors if the party preference was other than that of the party paying for the registration collection. Some parties were prosecuted. Other types of voter fraud involve vote-by-mail. In this instance, the voter receives a vote-by-mail ballot; however, dies before the election. The vote-by-mail ballot may be mailed early or the survivors of the vote-by-mail ballot may wish to comply with the voter’s wishes and submit the vote-by-mail ballot after the voter’s death, but before the election. Orange County’s post-election processes also easily catch this type of vote fraud as the voter rolls are checked against various databases to ensure that only living qualified voters voted. Online Registration 13 Levitt, J. The Truth About Voter Fraud, Brennan Center for Justice New York University School of Law (New York) p. 7 14 42 U.S.C. §1973(i) – Prohibited Acts retrieved 2/8/13, from http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/1973i 2012 – 2013 Orange County Grand Jury Page 348 of 360 Registrar of Voters Earns High Marks for 2012 Election The State of California initiated its online registration system on September 19,
• CM11
  The voter’s signature on the vote-by-mail ballot envelope, when compared to the signature on the affidavit of registration, did not appear to be the same, including: a. The voter used a mark on the vote-by-mail envelope that is not properly witnessed, and the affidavit of registration has a signature of the voter. b. The voter printed his or her name on the signature portion of the vote-by- mail ballot envelope but had a written signature on the signature portion of the affidavit of registration.
• CM12
  The vote-by-mail ballot return envelope contained two or more voted vote-by- mail ballots but there were less than an equal number of distinct signatures on the vote-by-mail envelope. The Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project26 was begun after the 2000 presidential election to provide scientific analysis regarding voting technology and election administration. In their report released on October 18, 2012, following
• CM13
  Finally, with the thousands of words written here, there are not words to express the gratitude and thanks we, as citizens, owe to the men and women who serve us day and night as law enforcement officers in the County of Orange. Their professionalism, bravery and service cannot be overestimated or taken for granted. It is because of our trust in them that we get up each morning without a thought to our safety and well- being. It is because of our trust in them that, when things go wrong, we call them first. Thank you.
• CM14
  Orange County grand juries have commended the Registrar of Voters office on several prior occasions citing management and staff for exemplary performance. The 2012-13 Orange County Grand Jury is pleased to commend the Registrar and his employees again for a “job well done” during the November election. 2012 – 2013 Orange County Grand Jury Page 360 of 360 700 Civic Center Drive West Santa Ana, CA., 92701 www.ocgrandjury.org

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