Public presenters press county on DOJ requests and voter-roll removals

At the Aug. 5 meeting, public presenters urged the Kern County Board of Supervisors to seek information from the Registrar of Voters about whether the county provided voter-registration data to federal authorities for cross-referencing citizenship status and to disclose the number of registration cancellations since 2020.

Dennis McLean, a local concerned citizen, opened the public presentations segment by asking the board to pursue transparency and accuracy in voter-roll maintenance. Ron Barger and Glenn Clayton described recent Department of Justice letters to several California counties and others that requested information about noncitizen registrations and removals. Clayton read a DOJ statement that, in part, said (as quoted in the meeting) "removal of noncitizens from the state voter rolls is critical to ensuring that the state's voter rolls are accurate and that elections in California are conducted without fraudulent voting." Andy Hensel — identified in the meeting as associated with the voting section of the Civil Rights Division — summarized federal requirements under the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) cited by the Justice Department.

Speakers asked the board to inquire whether Kern County Registrar of Voters Amy Espinosa had provided records to the Department of Homeland Security or responded to the federal requests, and to clarify the county's ability to produce canceled-registration records. Presenters said the Justice Department requested, in other counties, the total number of noncitizens removed since 2020 and copies of registration records including voter history, dates of birth, driver's license numbers and the last four digits of Social Security numbers; they noted that some counties have resisted disclosing redacted data and that the Justice Department sued Orange County after redactions.

Board members asked clarifying questions about record access and confidentiality. A county official present noted the confidentiality provisions that can limit release of some voter data. No formal action or vote by the board was recorded on this item during the meeting; the discussion occurred during the public presentations portion of the agenda.

Speakers also included members of the group Concerned Citizens, who described canvassing work and alleged inaccuracies on the rolls. Multiple public commenters requested clearer access or guidance regarding availability of canceled-voter lists and the registry maintenance process.

The board did not take a formal vote on the requests during the meeting; several supervisors referenced the registrar and county auditor/assessor offices as appropriate contacts for follow-up.