BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Historically, the roles of Kern County auditor-controller and registrar of voters have been combined, with one person elected to serve in both positions. However, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to separate these offices.
- During the meeting, Chief Financial Officer Elsa Martinez presented three options for reorganizing the elections office.
Historically, the roles of Kern County auditor-controller and registrar of voters have been combined, with one person elected to serve in both positions. However, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to separate these offices.
"I was a little surprised by how quickly things transpired in this morning's meeting," said Aimee Espinoza, the current Kern County Auditor-Controller and Registrar of Voters.
Espinoza said after months of concerned citizens calling for a change to the make-up of her office, she's prepared to separate her role from elections.
"I think that it does allow someone to really focus just on elections," she added.
During the meeting, Chief Financial Officer Elsa Martinez presented three options for reorganizing the elections office. The three options included:
- Separating the county clerk as an independent office by ordinance.
- Establishing the county clerk position with an appointed department head, which would require a ballot measure and voter approval.
- Creating a separate appointed registrar of voters, which would require legislative action.
Martinez emphasized that the third option would require rapid legislative action, with a deadline of February 21.
The Board of Supervisors voted in favor of the third option, moving toward a legislative change.
"I'm an accountant, and, you know, I've said that elections are really the outlier under my current responsibilities," Espinoza said, noting that she is comfortable continuing her duties as auditor-controller.
The decision to combine the Auditor-Controller and Registrar of Voters roles was made around 30 years ago. Espinoza pointed out at the time, Kern County had a much smaller population and different expectations for elections.
"Elections in Kern County have pretty much doubled—size of population, registered voters. There's also a lot more complexity with all vote-by-mail," Espinoza said.
Census data shows that Kern County’s population was just under 545,000 in 1990. Today, it exceeds 900,000.
"It's definitely a long way from polling sites in the neighborhood garage, where folks from the neighborhood would come in and vote on a one-day process," Espinoza added.
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