BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — At the Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday, the county addressed recent ballot discrepancies in the Greenfield Union School District Board of Trustee Area C election, as well as other issues.
- Kern County Registrar of Voters Aimee Espinoza told the board her office was also notified of a discrepancy in the McFarland Unified Board Member Area 2 race.
- Espinoza explained that in both cases, her office believes the errors stemmed from the 2020 redistricting. While the district maps were accurate in the Geographic Information System (GIS), a section of the streets was not captured in the election management systems.
At the Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday, the county addressed recent ballot discrepancies in the Greenfield Union School District Board of Trustee Area C election, as well as other issues.
Kern County Registrar of Voters Aimee Espinoza told the board her office was also notified of a discrepancy in the McFarland Unified Board Member Area 2 race. She said the issue had no effect on the outcome of that race.
“While this error is not ideal, the voted ballots did not have an effect on the election results, as the elected candidate won by 231 votes,” Espinoza said.
Espinoza explained that in both cases, her office believes the errors stemmed from the 2020 redistricting. While the district maps were accurate in the Geographic Information System (GIS), a section of the streets was not captured in the election management systems.
“Of the 458,298 voters across Kern County, 120 received an incorrect ballot, and of the 286,666 voters who cast a ballot, 63 voted their incorrect ballot,” Espinoza said.
County counsel told the board they had worked with the district’s legal counsel to file an amended writ, which will bring about a special election in the Greenfield Union race. However, they will not be able to get a hearing before a judge before the district is scheduled to seat the newly elected board member, Mercy Pena.
“It’s done. It was certified by the elections office. It was certified by you, and it was submitted to the state of California,” Pena said.
Questions remain about when the special election will take place, whether it will be open to just the two candidates or more, and what this means for the vacant seat in the meantime.
One question that was answered by county counsel: The county will be responsible for paying for the special election.
Greenfield Union School District is scheduled to hold its organizational meeting to seat Pena Wednesday evening at 5:30 p.m.
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