"This is a wholly inaccurate statement. The Board of Supervisors does not appoint these offices and the Recorder is not a department head that sits over the Clerk and Registrar"

 

Voters in Humboldt received a personalized message via email today from Juan Cervantes correcting misinformation sent out by Tiffany Hunt Nielsen.

"Dear John Chiv,

My name is Juan Pablo Cervantes. While I am one of three candidates running for the Humboldt County Clerk, Recorder & Registrar of Voters, I am not writing to ask for your vote. My purpose in contacting you is to correct misinformation that my opponent recently emailed to registered voters across Humboldt regarding the nature of the office they will be voting for when they cast their ballot for the Clerk, Recorder & Registrar of Voters.

Because your email address is included in the voter data that is publicly available for purchase from the Humboldt County Elections Office, you may have received an email yesterday from my opponent, Tiffany Hunt Nielsen. In this email, Tiffany incorrectly states:

“A little history about the position – the Elected Official is the Recorder. The Clerk and Registrar of Voters have been appointed by the Board of Supervisors – the Recorder is the Department Head over the Clerk and Registrar of Voters. This is why it is so important that the next Recorder has experience Recording.”

This is a wholly inaccurate statement. The Board of Supervisors does not appoint these offices and the Recorder is not a department head that sits over the Clerk and Registrar.

How is your Clerk, Recorder & Registrar of Voters selected?

The selection of the Humboldt County Clerk, Recorder & Registrar is a power that belongs solely to Humboldt voters, to be decided at the ballot box. In fact, California Government Code includes specific provisions that prohibit our Board of Supervisors from appointing persons to oversee these three distinct offices.

There are three rules you should know to understand the legal mechanics of how we select a Clerk, Recorder & Registrar:

First, Government Code specifies the ten county officials that must be “elected by the people,” including the County Clerk (inclusive of the Registrar duties) and the County Recorder. The only way that our Clerk or Recorder may become appointed by the Humboldt Supervisors is if a proposition is put to Humboldt voters and is “approved by a majority of the votes cast on the proposition.” Never has such a proposition been approved by our voters. (Government Code Section 24009.)

Second, the Humboldt Board of Supervisors is permitted to consolidate elected county offices, using combinations specified in Government Code, so that the same person will hold and oversee multiple elected positions – one such combination is the Clerk and Recorder. And in 1996, our Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance to consolidate our County Clerk and Recorder offices. However, the consolidation of two offices does not result in either being abolished. So, our Clerk and Recorder remain distinct elected offices, even when held by the same person. (Government Code Sections 24300 and 24304; Humboldt County Code Section 2417-1.)

Third, Government Code is clear that our County Clerk (and not the Recorder) is also our Registrar of Voters. California law clearly prohibits the Humboldt County Supervisors from appointing our Registrar or separating the duties of the Registrar from the County Clerk. Having looked through more than 25 years of records, I can safely say that there is no evidence of the Supervisors previously voting on the appointment of the Registrar of Voters. (Government Code Sections 26802 and 26802.5; see also Government Code Section 25100.5; Elections Code Section 311 (repealed 2002))

I truly appreciate the diligence voters in Humboldt County take in deciding who to vote for. The truth is not something that we can afford to bargain with.

With utmost gratitude,

Juan Pablo Cervantes"