Contra Costa County Grand Jury
• 2022-2023
The Contra Costa County Elections Division Voter Outreach, The Voter Guide & Election Security
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings 8 findings
F1
The elections division outreach efforts using CBOs in the months before the 2020 general election had a measurable impact on voter participation in those areas where resources were deployed.
F2
For those cities targeted by the elections division’s CBO outreach program, voter participation was 15% above the overall county increase from 2018 to 2020.
F3
The elections division reaches out to the public using online “how to” videos on their website, including videos describing the many ways to cast your vote, how elections are certified, and how you can research candidates and measures.
F4
The elections division provides a candidate guide for potential candidates that describes the process of running for an elected office within the county.
F5
A candidate is not required to submit a candidate statement for the voter guide.
F6
The elections division levies a fee for the candidate statement in the voter guide, to offset printing and distribution costs.
F7
The fee for a candidate statement ranges from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, depending on the number of voter guides printed with that candidate’s information.
F8
The elections division has implemented safeguards to prevent physical and cyber security breaches as well as unauthorized, fraudulent, and duplicate ballots.
Recommendations 4
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R1The grand jury recommends that the elections division continue to seek out and apply for grant funding for voter outreach efforts including mailers, community meetings and telephone outreach.
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R2The grand jury recommends that the elections division establish a means to quantify (measure) the impact of outreach efforts on voter registration and participation and make those results available to the public after each major election via its website.
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R3The grand jury recommends that the fees for providing candidate statements in the voter guide be eliminated to promote candidate transparency.
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R4The grand jury recommends that the elections division add a video to its website describing the physical and cyber security measures it employs to safeguard facilities, ballots, and election data.
Agency Responses 1
Government agencies' official responses to this report's findings and recommendations. Click on a response to see the structured breakdown.