A majority of the Orange County Board of Supervisors Friday disputed state Sen. Steven Choi’s contention that the county backed his new bill aiming to clear out ineligible voters.
The Irvine Republican touted Senate Bill 1310 that he said would “improve the accuracy of California’s voter registration system” by coordinating data from jury commissioners and election officials. In other words, if someone swears they are ineligible to serve on a jury for reasons that could affect their ability to vote then local election officials would be notified.
“Accurate voter rolls are fundamental to maintaining public trust in our elections,” Choi said in a news release. “This common-sense measure ensures that information already being provided under penalty of perjury is used appropriately to keep our voter registration system up to date and reliable.”
Choi said in the news release that the bill was “sponsored by the county of Orange.”
Choi’s office pointed to minutes from a Board of Supervisors meeting in December that indicated the board approved the recommended legislation.
At the Dec. 16 meeting, Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento and Vice Chair Katrina Foley voted against the measure. Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairman Doug Chaffee said he may have mistakenly voted for it, but does not support the bill.
“I may have made a mistake, but it’s a bad bill,” Chaffee told City News Service. “I take some blame if there’s some confusion here.”
Chaffee said the measure would add “just another bit of red tape that doesn’t make sense.”
The board chairman said there could be many reasons someone is ineligible for jury service but still can vote.
`You may not be eligible for jury service because you’re too old, you’re 90 years old and you can’t hear, but they still want to vote.”
Foley said she voted against it because “I felt it was unconstitutional. It feels like an overreach and unconstitutional to me.”
Sarmiento also criticized the bill.
“At its best, this legislation is a solution in search of a problem,” Sarmiento said. “Orange County has simply not seen evidence of voter fraud that would justify making these changes. I oppose this and other legislation that has, without evidence, tried to delegitimize our voting system, for political gain and to pursue a campaign aimed at disenfranchising voters in our state.”
Supervisor Don Wagner, who is running for secretary of state, did not immediately return a call for comment. Wagner and Supervisor Janet Nguyen supported the measure in the December meeting.
But Wagner said in Choi’s news release, “Maintaining accurate voter registration records is critical to the integrity of our elections. This legislation provides a practical and responsible way to ensure our voter rolls reflect current and accurate information.”