A San Benito County poll inspector was fired on Election Day for
giving
”
too much of their own opinion
”
while interpreting a ballot for a local resident, head elections
official Joe Paul Gonzalez confirmed.
A San Benito County poll inspector was fired on Election Day for giving “too much of their own opinion” while interpreting a ballot for a local resident, head elections official Joe Paul Gonzalez confirmed.
At about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, the head poll worker at an undisclosed location had been interpreting the ballot for a Spanish-speaking resident and went too far in sharing his or her opinion, Gonzalez said.
“I think the poll worker probably misspoke probably, gave too much of their own opinion,” Gonzalez said. “We both agreed that was inappropriate.”
It came up through a complaint from another resident who had been there assisting the voter, said Gonzalez, who responded by “relieving” the poll inspector at that site.
“I felt that under the circumstances, it was the right thing to do,” said Gonzalez, who declined to provide any information on the fired poll worker.
As to whether the interpreter explicitly told the resident how to vote on specific candidates or propositions, Gonzalez responded, “I don’t think that happened.”
He went on: “What I want absolutely put to rest – this only was a one-time incident. It did not happen with anybody else.”
Gonzalez, the county clerk/auditor/recorder, said there were four other poll workers at the site. He said he “looked into it” further on Tuesday to ensure the inspector was not witnessed sharing an opinion with other voters.
The interpreter at the polling place had worked for the county on prior Election Days, Gonzalez confirmed, noting how the office had not had any previous issues with the person.
Marvin Jones, chairman of the San Benito County Republican Party, heard about the incident on Election Day. On Thursday in an interview, he complimented Gonzalez for the “speed with which Joe Paul took care of the problem.”
Jones added how it shows such problems do not just occur in big cities such as Las Vegas or New York.
“Joe Paul Gonzalez was on the ball,” Jones said.
