BOARD OKS FORMATION OF INDEPENDENT ELECTION COMMITTEE

The Board of Supervisors has approved establishing an Election Advisory Committee, composed of volunteers who will monitor Riverside County elections and solicit input from residents on what to improve in the interest of transparency and efficiency.

“There’s a perception that this committee is going to make dramatic changes in the way that elections are held, but we don’t have that authority,” Supervisor Kevin Jeffries said ahead of the 5-0 vote March 29. “We can, with the help of citizens, improve the process. But the committee will only make recommendations. It’s a citizens committee to help us with the process. It’s a good start.”

The committee concept has been in the works since August, when the board first affirmed the need for an independent commission to meet each year to scrutinize election practices and come up with proposals that might ensure the integrity of operations during primary and general elections.

Jeffries first broached the idea of a standing independent election integrity committee in May 2020. It didn’t gain traction at the time, but he pressed the issue again last May, despite Registrar Rebecca Spencer’s position that a committee wasn’t needed since an observer panel was already available.

The new seven-member panel will include a chair, a designee from the Republican Party, a designee from the Democratic Party, a third-party designee hailing from whichever third party garnered the highest votes countywide in the most recent presidential election, a representative from the League of Women Voters, a representative from a local Hispanic nonpartisan community organization and an ex-officio rep from the county Executive Office.

In an election year, such as the current one, the committee will be required to convene a minimum of five meetings ahead of and following the primary and general elections. In non-election years, the panel will only need to meet twice.

All meetings will be accessible via Zoom to encourage wide public participation.

The committee will report findings and concerns to the board, the Ad-hoc Committee on Elections, the Executive Office and the Office of the Registrar of Voters.

Members will serve two-year terms and have the support of personnel from the Executive Office, Office of County Counsel and the registrar’s office.