Porter to retire after Election Day
EL CENTRO — An emotional Debra Porter, the Imperial County registrar of voters, told the supervisors at its meeting Tuesday that her last day will be Nov. 3, the day of the general election.
Immediately after telling the board of her decision, she left the room as the supervisors applauded.
“I am at a place in my life where the retirement incentive offered by the board is one that will benefit me personally, and I feel it is time that I enjoy the next stage of my life,” she said at the meeting. “I am proud of the role I have played over the years in the election process for Imperial
County and the valuable experiences and friendships that this position has offered me.”
Before telling the board her decision she gave a brief presentation on the upcoming election and even mentioned the mistake made in the Imperial Area College District 4 race, regarding some voters in this district realizing their ballots did not include this race.
The Elections Department sent out replacement ballots to the voters in this district.
After Porter left the room, Supervisor Ray Castillo said everyone makes mistakes from time to time, which was resolved in this situation.
He hopes the county will be able to find someone just as good as Porter to fill the position.
Porter began her career with Imperial County in 1997 and has served as the registrar of voters since 2014.
The new registrar of voters will be appointed by County Executive Officer Tony Rouhotas Jr. The duties will be
to plan, organize and oversee operations and activities of the department, including the registration of voters and conducting all primary, general and special elections in the county.
“We thank Ms. Porter for her dedication serving the people and the difficult job of overseeing election activity in Imperial County,” said Chairman Supervisor Luis Plancarte. “Looking ahead, it is our priority to ensure resources are
secured to ensure continuity of the upcoming election.”
Plancarte said he would like to thank Porter personally for her work and career.
A special team made up of staff from the executive office, county counsel and human resources will work closely with the elections staff to assist the department with canvassing and certification of the general election.