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Registrar of Voters to conduct a mock election in Mission Viejo Jan. 7

vote center

The Orange County Registrar of Voters on Tuesday, January 7 will conduct a mock election in Mission Viejo to highlight the features of Vote Centers and Orange County’s new voting system.

The public is invited to learn about the benefits of the county’s transition to Vote Centers – including the ability to register to vote, cast an in-person ballot, obtain replacement ballots and more. In addition, voters will be able to cast a mock ballot on the new voting system.

The mock election is from 10 am to 6 pm in the Mission Viejo City Hall Saddleback Room at 200 Civic Center.

For more information, visit ocvote.com/mockelection.

Comments

Submitted by Cathy Schlicht on Wed, 01/08/2020 - 11:50 am

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Yesterday I participated in the Mock Election. It went smoothly and appears to have fail-safe measures in place to retard voter fraud.

I also took the opportunity to again inquire about the ability for cumulative voting to occur in Mission Viejo. As I have learned on multiple occasions and from numerous sources, the voting machines are NOT CERTIFIED for cumulative voting.

The Mission Viejo City Attorney, Bill Curley, officially received the same notification from the Office of the Secretary of State.

In a letter dated May 3, 2019 from the State to our City Attorney:

“...general law cities are only allowed to hold plurality winner elections...”

“...the Secretary of State requires certification of voting systems.”

“The voting system currently in use by Orange County has not been certified for cumulative voting elections.”

“...we cannot identify any express statutory authority for the use of cumulative voting in California by a general law city.”

“The Elections Code does not define cumulative voting ballot tabulation requirements - the very requirements that are used to develop testing and certification criteria.”

“In the absence of such statutory authority, it is our view that the City of Mission Viejo is not authorized to use cumulative voting.”

Well over a year ago, on March 19, 2018, I informed our City Council members that Superior Court Judge had reversed his ruling on cumulative voting: “...after receiving a letter from California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, Green ruled that while the current “voting ballot tabulation” technology, known as the OPTO-MARK system, could be programmed for the cumulative voting system, the “Elections Code does not define any cumulative voting ballot tabulation methods by which testing and certification criteria could be developed by my office,” according to a letter from Padilla.”

Isn’t it amazing that out of thousands of city attorney’s and special district attorney’s in the State of California, only our City Attorney continues to pursue cumulative voting?

This whole process began on September 29, 2017, and the City still has not come to a conclusion to the lawsuit that was settled on July 26, 2018.

Delays only benefit the incumbents. Per the judgment, all 5 council members are up for re-election on November 3, 2020. Potential candidates deserve and have the right to have the same knowledge as the sitting council members, who already have the huge advantage of being in office.

The purpose of the CVRA is for diversity, not using one's position to keep their seats.

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