Possible violations of election laws are being investigated by
the San Benito County Sheriff’s Department regarding more than 200
voter registration cards that were submitted in support of a new
initiative to control growth in the county.
Possible violations of election laws are being investigated by the San Benito County Sheriff’s Department regarding more than 200 voter registration cards that were submitted in support of a new initiative to control growth in the county.
After hearing concerns of the manner in which the cards were filled out, Republican Central Committee Chairman Marvin Jones sent a formal request to the San Benito County’s District Attorney’s office to conduct an investigation based on his observations of newly registered voters since the first of the year. The DA’s office forward the request to the sheriff’s department.
Sheriff Curtis Hill said it was the first time he has had to work on anything that had to do with election law violations and did not know how long the investigation would last.
“I just assigned a detective to look into the allegations and to see what the statutes say,” he said Tuesday. It is interesting. I hope the voters would follow the guidelines on those registration forms.”
The initiative, which received 5,900 signatures, more than enough to place it on the March ballot, includes amendments to the land-use elements of the county’s General Plan that would increase the minimum parcel size for the agricultural productive of five-acre lots to 20-acre parcels and change agricultural rangeland from 40-acre parcel lots to a minimum 160 acres.
Proponents said it would protect the long-range vitality of county agriculture and the area’s rural character. Opponents said the down-zoning would devaluate their land, which would affect farmers’ and ranchers’ ability to borrow against the property.
The Board of Supervisors, which is conducting a study into the impacts of the initiative, has nearly 40 days to decide on the initiative and could place it on the coming ballot.
Comparing some of voter registration cards that have occurred since the first of year, Jones said there was a major change in party affiliation.
“From the last fall elections there were about 90 percent of the register voters who were identified with a party and only 10 percent had declined to state,” he said.
But what perked Jones’ attention was after reviewing several hundred registration cards, more than 50 percent of the voters declined to state a party affiliation.
“That seemed unusual,” he said. “That, and the evidence the voter registration cards had been filled out by one person, but signed by a second party. The individual that signed the card certainly had different hand writing.”
Jones said it was obvious a second party helped fill out the forms, and besides the difference in penmanship, the forms had different colored ink.
Jones said a box on the registration form states if someone provides assistance filling out the voter cards, they are supposed to identify themselves.
“None of them were filled in. There was no identification who assisted them,” he said. “It is my understanding it is a felony not to identify who you are.”
Also, a number of people who signed the petition have now started to call the county’s election office requesting to have their name removed.
County Clerk John Hodges said if anyone wants to have their name removed from the petition, it must be done in writing.
“We have gotten some phone calls and some people have written in to us requesting their name be removed from the petition,” Hodges said.
Tres Pinos farmer Paul Hain had signed the petition, but now, after reviewing it more thoroughly, changed his mind.
“I could see after looking at the details it had impact on the all the landowners who are not necessarily developers, but many of these people have owned their land for generations,” he said. “This could be detrimental to community as a whole.
“The only thing the initiative does is protect the land resource, the land itself. There is a tremendous land value sacrifice to the people who actually do the farming. You are talking 100,000s of acres of land that just can’t be given away without adequate compensation.”
However, Hain said signing the petition was not bad and if anything, it puts growth issues in the forefront.
“It is an opportunity for us to come together, to get the information to the community about growth, agriculture and services,” he said. “We can come up with solutions that will work for our community.”
Hain said the different signatures and different colors of ink used on the voter registration cards do raise some serious questions about the agenda of those hired by the proponents to gather signatures.
“I don’t think it was the initiative people themselves,” he said. “I have respect for them for putting this issue forth and I believe these people truly believe they are doing the right thing.”
And, he added, signing the petition did not mean a person would vote on it.
“If we inform them, give them the facts to deal with, then the emotions can be brought into perspective,” he said.
Hodges said anyone wishes to have their name removed from the petition must do so in writing and mail it or drop it off at the San Benito County Registrar at 440 Fifth St., Room 206, Hollister, CA 95023.
