Democratic Committee hurls racism charges against county
EL CENTRO – Imperial County’s Democratic Central Committee issued a resolution Friday calling for the Board of Supervisors to remove of county CEO Tony Rouhotas Jr. and Registrar of Voters Debra Porter.
The resolution, which the committee’s executive board approved Thursday, alleges racially discriminatory practices at the Registrar of Voters Office.
Four specific allegations are raised in the resolution:
1. “The Registrar of Voters’ reluctance to publish names of candidates for election.”
2. “The racist overcharging of an African-American senior citizen for copies of Imperial County public candidate records at a rate five times more than what is charged to white people for the same documents.”
3. “The 11-day and counting ongoing delay in copying candidate records requested by a Mexican-American woman that should be available immediately to any member of the public, regardless of ethnic heritage.”
4. “The illegal extensions by the Registrar of Voters to allow a white candidate to submit a candidate ballot statement after he already had filed his candidate papers and been sworn in as a candidate without a candidate ballot statement.”
The committee’s resolution further accuses
Rouhotas of “blaming the complainant, not the violators, for raising bonafide concerns about the racism of Registrar Debbie Porter.”
The committee announced votes of “no confidence” in both Rouhotas and Porter and demanded their resignation. Should the two refuse to resign, the committee demanded that the Imperial County Board of Supervisors “swiftly remove Rouhotas, Jr. and Porter from their positions, and that Attorney General Xavier Becerra and Secretary of State Alex Padilla initiate independent investigations into criminal tampering with election documents and racism in the Imperial County Office of the Registrar of Voters.”
Rouhotas was clearly angry when discussing the accusations Friday evening, saying the committee had crossed a line. He said he’ll tolerate many criticisms, “but don’t call me racist or sexist.”
In a formal statement issued from the CEO’s office Friday, the county said all claims cited within the Imperial County Democratic Central Committee’s resolution are “unsubstantiated and false.”
“The CEO, Registrar of Voters, and County elections staff respect and uphold their mission to conduct voting processes in accordance with the highest level of professional election standards,” the statement read.
The county noted the Registrar of Voters, acting as the county elections official, is required to adhere to the California Elections Code, which governs elections held within the state of California. This includes the obligation to strictly follow all requirements for candidates to file paperwork within statutory deadlines, the county said.
“The ROV has reviewed all of the paperwork submitted by candidates for the upcoming Nov. 3 election, and has confirmed that no candidate was permitted to file a candidate’s statement of qualifications after the Aug. 7 deadline.”
Regarding the allegation of racially motivated overcharges for copies of public documents, the county said the Registrar of Voters charges 10 cents per copy of documents relating to Fair Political Practices Commission filings, and 50 cents per copy for records relating to elections.
“The current fee schedule was established over 20 years ago, and has been consistently and equitably followed at all times,” the county said.
Regarding requests for copies of candidate statements and other elections records, such requests are generally governed by the California Public Records Act, the county said. Under the CPRA, a local agency has up to 10 days to provide an initial response as to whether records will be disclosed. However, the county explained, there is no set time for the actual disclosure of requested records, so long as a local agency provided the records within a reasonable time following the request.
“Although the ROV’s Office has limited staff, even during the current COVID-19 pandemic, the department strives to fulfill all requests for information or copies of documentation in a timely manner,” the county said. “Response times may be dependent on the amount of copies and information the individual is requesting. While the ICDCC Resolution did not identify the specific records request the ROV allegedly did not fulfill, all CPRA requests have been responded to as expeditiously as possible and within the time lawfully permitted.”
Ironically, the “African-American senior citizen” referenced in the committee’s resolution as being the one overcharged for documents, as confirmed by Chair Annette Gonzalez-Buttner, reportedly came to Rouhotas’ defense.
Marlene Thomas, a member of the ICDCC and longtime community advocate, was quoted in the release: “It is unfortunate that the Democratic Central Committee has used race as an issue. I believe in Mr. Rouhotas and his character; I find it disheartening that I belong to a committee that is using racial tactics.”
Chairman of the Board and District 2 Supervisor Luis A. Plancarte said: “In these times of political and social unrest, it is now more important than ever that those with influence in our communities ensure that they are exercising their voices in a responsible and professional manner. Baseless allegations of racism and disparate treatment are hurtful and injurious; not only to those that have been falsely accused of such conduct, but also to those individuals who have actually experienced such treatment, and are advocating for change.”
The county said that while it understands and appreciates the desire to protect the integrity of elections, “they are disappointed that ICDCC would make such allegations without first verifying the veracity of the claims.”
The county asked that the committee rescind the resolution.
This story is still developing and will be updated in Sunday’s edition.