LAKE COUNTY— According to their comprehensive 2022-23 Report, the Civil Grand Gury investigated the planning for and the execution of the Nov. 8, 2022 election in Lake County and “was impressed with the professionalism and security with which the election was conducted.” However, the organization made recommendations for future elections including the development of a training video for poll workers and that the Registrar of Voters recognize the difference between Election Day observers and Grand Jury observers.
Prior to Election Day, interviews were conducted with the current Registrar of Voters and former polling place workers to learn of previous experiences and the expectation coming into the Nov. 8 election. The Grand Jury visited all 22 polling locations in Lake County on Election Day. Jurors observed polling place closing practices, while an attempt was also made to observe Election evening procedures at the Registrar’s Office in Lakeport.
The Grand Jury found that some Election Day workers do not fully understand all aspects of polling place practices and procedures because they only attend role-specific trainings. Among other findings, the watchdog organization discovered: That not all polling places were equally active on Election Day, that many voters prefer to drop off their completed ballots at their polling places on Election Day, and that public observer and Grand Jury Observer training and orientation procedures require clarification.
Lake County currently has 80 precincts and 22 polling places staffed by 34 boards. Each board consists of two clerks, one judge, one inspector, one vote-by-mail clerk and if needed, one voter machine technician per polling site. Each of these roles requires a one to two hour training prior to Election Day conducted by the Registrar of Voters. Each training focuses only on one specific role. For the November 2022 election, 2,479 voters returned their ballots via drop boxes and 4,542 returned them in person at polling places.
The Grand Jury recommends that the Registrar of Voters develop a training video for all poll workers that includes all aspects of polling place policies and procedures, that the Registrar of Voters assess the reliable connectivity of County-issued cell phones given to poll workers and that the Registrar of Voters emphasize repeatedly in its print materials the proper use of vote-by-mail ballots, including highlighting the location of the signature block of the envelop and reiterating the need of brining both the envelop and ballot when voting in person. The county’s Registrar of Voters has 60 days to respond.
