County declines federal demand to set aside 63 ballots
Photo courtesy of the County of San Luis Obispo.
County Counsel says list lacked individualized evidence of ineligibility
– The County of San Luis Obispo formally denied a U.S. Department of Justice demand to withhold the ballots of 63 registered voters federal officials identified as likely noncitizens, according to the county.
On Oct. 23, a Department of Justice representative hand-delivered a letter to the county Elections Office demanding confidential voter registration information and action on certain vote-by-mail ballots, according to County Clerk-Recorder and Registrar of Voters Elaina Cano. Federal officials asked that the ballots be set aside, and not processed, until the voters’ citizenship could be confirmed, according to the district attorney’s office.
“A list of individuals alleged to be ineligible to vote does not, on its own, authorize our office to set aside their ballots or disregard established election law,” Cano said in a statement. She said state Elections Code sections 15105 and 15106 set the procedures for challenging vote-by-mail voters, and that her office will not release protected voter information without appropriate legal authority.
“We take allegations of improper voter registration seriously and will always cooperate with lawful investigations conducted through appropriate channels,” Cano said.
