BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Mercy Pena defends her election victory as GUSD files a lawsuit claiming voter discrepancies in the Area C election.
- A discrepancy in a local school board election is now being fought in court.
- The Greenfield Union School District is asking a judge to annul the election results in its Area C election due to the fact that over 50 of the votes cast were from voters outside the area.
A discrepancy in a local school board election is now being fought in court. The Greenfield Union School District is asking a judge to annul the election results in its Area C election due to the fact that over 50 of the votes cast were from voters outside the area.
GUSD and another petitioner, the niece of the former trustee Ricardo Herrera, filed the lawsuit to unseat current board member Mercy Pena following the discrepancy found in the recent election.
"They don't have anything, so I'm not expecting anything. There's nothing," Pena said following the hearing Tuesday,
According to the elections office, 108 ballots were sent out amid the Area C board member election. 57 of the 108 ballots were cast by invalid voters. Registrar of Voters Aimee Espinoza confirmed that it was not possible to determine which votes cast belonged to those 57 voters. In order to remedy the mistake, a court order is needed, with the county and school district working together to get a special election.
Pena was present as attorneys presented arguments to a judge.
"They did not show the burden of proof for them to actually annul the election," she said. "Which I think is just absurd."
As part of the lawsuit, the district is asking a judge to annul the certification of the results and order that the seat remain vacant until a special election can be held. However, Pena argues she won the election and was already sworn in, and even if there was an error, the elections department, county, and state certified those results.
"This is to me as a frivolous lawsuit," Pena remarked. "The current county election doesn't want to take responsibility and neither does the Greenfield Union School District. And I'm sorry, but it is what it is."
Pena said she hopes the judge throws out the lawsuit and has acquired her own legal representation.
"I'm not worried about the Greenfield Union School District. I know that they're not happy that I won," she said "At the end of the day, the California state of California election law is clear. I won, it was certified."
The hearing was continued Tuesday morning to February 7, however, a predisposition hearing has been set for January 31.
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