Tulare County board agrees with most grand jury findings on election safeguards, partially rejects one claim

The Tulare County Board of Supervisors on July 15 approved the county’s formal response to the 2024–25 Tulare County Grand Jury report titled “Election Integrity,” directing staff to send the response to the presiding judge within 90 days.

Israel Sotelo, Chief of Staff to the Board, summarized the draft response and read the county’s positions on the record. The response agreed with three of four grand jury findings: that oversight by the Secretary of State and the Tulare County Registrar of Voters provides strong regulation, that election checks and balances minimize the chance of widespread fraud, and that the electorate should be better informed about how elections are administered and how to volunteer as poll workers.

On the fourth finding, which said identification requirements and collection of residency addresses, emails and phone numbers are strong safeguards against fraudulent registrations, the county’s draft response partially disagreed. Sotelo read the county’s explanation that federal and state law already require certain identification for first-time registrants: “Title 52 of the United States Code section 21038 and California Elections Code section 2150 require individuals registering to vote for the first time to provide their current and valid driver’s license number or state identification number on the affidavit of registration,” the response read. The county noted that if a first-time registrant lacks a driver’s license, the last four digits of a Social Security number may be used and that the state will assign a unique number if neither is available. The draft response added that email and phone numbers are optional and “add no value in safeguarding against the registration of fraudulent voters.”

The county accepted two grand jury recommendations and declined one. It agreed to publish fact sheets and run outreach to dispel misconceptions about deceased people voting and other common claims; that effort was scheduled to be implemented by January 2026. It said the Registrar of Voters has already implemented outreach to recruit poll workers and volunteers. The county declined to add a flyer to monthly utility bills or to require presentations to churches, describing those options as cost-ineffective and noting existing outreach methods can achieve similar goals.

Supervisor Eddie Valero moved to approve the response; Supervisor Dennis Townsend seconded. The motion passed unanimously (4–0) with Supervisor Larry McCarrie absent.

Sotelo told the board the response will go to the presiding judge, the Hon. Nathan Eid, within the 90-day deadline. The board did not change election law or procedures; it provided the county’s official response to the grand jury’s report.