OC Registrar of Voters Bob Page said he needs the city of Santa Ana to tell him what to do about a recall election already underway.
Councilmember Jessie Lopez was elected to Santa Ana’s Ward 3, in the north and northeastern part of the city, in 2020. In 2022, the boundaries of that ward were changed based on updated demographics from the latest U.S. Census. Now, questions are being raised about which map should be used when counting the signatures on the petition that forced a special election asking whether Lopez should be removed from the council.
Ballots have already been mailed out and voting is set to end Nov. 14.
In an Oct. 26 letter addressed to City Clerk Jennifer Hall, Page said the 2020 map of Ward 3 has more registered voters in its boundaries and would have required recall petitioners to collect more signatures to force the election. A couple of neighborhoods were taken out of the ward in 2022, so some collected signatures would not be valid under the 2020 version.
Also, Page pointed out ballots were mailed out using the 2022 version of the ward and about 1,186 people who voted in the ward in 2020 when Lopez was elected did not receive ballots and 357 voters who are new to the ward did.
“This difference between the old and current Ward 3 boundaries would have impacted whether the recall petition had sufficient valid signatures and who can validly vote in the recall election,” Page wrote in his letter.
The county office needs instruction from the city because in state law, Page said in response to questions, the city clerk is the elections official for municipal elections – the Registrar of Voters is simply contracted by the city to provide election services.
After receiving an email from the Kings County Registrar of Voters asking other county elections officials in the state for advice regarding a recall effort that involved officials elected before and after redistricting, Page said he re-examined his office’s own review and…
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