Comments to Grand Jury Report 13-02c*

R1

The MPTCSD and Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors and the Office of the Clerk Recorder/Registrar of Voters should make MPTCSD board member candidate recruitment a priority to fill present board position vacancy(s). Comment: It is the function of the Clerk-Recorder-Registrar of Voters to conduct state, county and district elections. The Clerk-Recorder-Registrar of Voters also conducts city elections pursuant to request and contract with a particular city. The Clerk-Recorder-Registrar of Voters does not have authority to recruit candidates and remains impartial and neutral in the conduct of elections. Pursuant to California Government Code Section 1780, vacancies on a Board can be filled by a quorum of remaining directors ; by the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors between 60 and 90 days; and by election after 90 days. In order to be eligible to serve as a director in the MPTCSD, an individual must meet the requirement of being a registered voter. The MPTCSD has a total of 57 registered voters.

R2

The MPTCSD should develop and implement a record keeping system that is complete, secure and readily available. Comment: Clerk-Recorder-Registrar of Voters conducts elections on behalf of the elective districts within Stanislaus County including MPTCSD. It does not instruct nor oversee the manner in which individual districts conduct business. R 3. The Board of Supervisors and the Office of the Clerk Recorder/Registrar of Voters should convert existing hard copy paper files to searchable computer files as soon as financially feasible. The converted files should be available to county offices and the public as necessary and/or reasonable. Comment: Records from 1854 to current are accessible from the Clerk-Recorder- Registrar of Voters. The Clerk-Recorder-Registrar of Voters maintains documents in multiple formats including electronic, digital, microfiche, microfilm and original paper, and said documents are available to the public upon 48 hours notice. Multiple election documents are on-line at www.stanyote.com some of which include the election calendar of important dates, candidates and measures for current elections, an explanation of the canvass of the vote, department overview, e-sample ballot pamphlet which contains the sample ballot pamphlet, a copy of the ballot and candidate statements as well as voter information, the list of elected officials and their statement of economic interest, the election results from 2002 to present, the Statement of the Vote from 2007 to present which includes the detail of all candidates and election results, an interactive ballot tracker/look-up with the ability to check a voters' provisional and vote by mail status, polling places, precincts and election officers, vote by mail history, required steps to request a vote by mail ballot and information, voter registration/information, Stanislaus County voting system information and voter information guide materials. In addition to information placed on-line, the Clerk-Recorder-Registrar of Voters utilizes the Data Information Management System (DIMS) specialized database system to maintain records which include voter, candidate, election officer, polling place, district, precinct, street and affidavit distribution. No Clerk-Recorder-Registrar of Voters records were requested by the Grand Jury during its investigation. The Grand Jury inquiry focused on California Election Code sections which are available on-line at several sites including http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/ and an explanation the general election process. The contact information for the Clerk-Recorder-Registrar of Voters is 525-5211. Sincerely Leé Lundrigan Stanislaus County Clerk Recorder & Registrar of Voters CC: Supervisor Vito Chiesa, Chairman, Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors Richard W. Jacobs, Foreperson, -2013 Monica Nino, Chief Executive Officer, Stanislaus County