October 31, 2016

Mr. Dean C. Logan

Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk
12400 Imperial Highway
Norwalk, CA 90650

Re: Inquiry into compliance with CA Election Codes 14216, 14217

Dear Mr. Logan:

I trust this letter finds you well and expectedly busy amid the 2016 General Election. True the Vote
(TTV) is a nonpartisan, voters rights organization that trains and empowers voters to achieve election
integrity in their communities for the benefit of all.
In the past weeks, TTV has been operating its smartphone application, VoteStand1, to serve as a citizens
reporting tool for election issues. On October 27, a Los Angeles County poll inspector trainee used our
application to upload a portion of your states poll inspector training video. In this video, poll workers are
instructed to allow voters to self-select any name from the voter registry during the sign in process. The
voter then proceeds to cast a ballot using whatever name they have selected. This instruction violates
California Election Codes 14216 and 14217.
As you know, 14216 and 142172 state clearly (emphasis added):
( 14216) Any person desiring to vote shall announce his or her name and address in an audible
tone of voice, and when one of the precinct officers finds the name in the index, the officer shall
in a like manner repeat the name and address. The voter shall then write his or her name and
residence address or, if the voter is unable to write, shall have the name and residence address
written by another person on a roster of voters provided for that purpose, whereupon a challenge
may be interposed as provided in this article.
( 14217) If the precinct board is unable to find a voter's name upon the index of

registration, it shall inform the voter that he or she may cast a provisional ballot and the
procedure for doing so. If the voter elects to cast a provisional ballot, the precinct board shall
furnish the voter with a provisional ballot, in accordance with Section 14310.
Despite these clear guidelines governing the process by which a voter is properly checked in at the polling
place, your offices online training system, specifically the Assisting Voters at the Roster Clerk Station
1

VoteStand for iPhone and Android devices (http://www.votestand.com)

California Elections Code Section 14210-14227 (http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgibin/displaycode?section=elec&group=14001-15000&file=14210-14227)
2

True the Vote | PO Box 131768 | Houston, Texas 77219-1768

section of the Inspector Program guide outlines a much different procedure according to the videos
narrator:
The roster clerk greets the voter as he or she approaches the official table and asks for his or
her name and address. Locate the voters name in the roster of voters or the blue supplemental
roster page attached to the back cover. You may allow the voter to look for his or her name if
you have trouble finding it.
The video shows the clerk turning over the registry to the voter and allowing the voter to point to a name
of their choosing. This break with the established statutes leaves True the Vote with some specific
questions as to why your office would instruct roster clerks to bypass the provisional ballot procedure as
codified and instead encourage a would-be voter to simply pick a name.
Given that Los Angeles County is the largest voting jurisdiction in the United States; it is of considerable
concern that your office may be training election workers to operate outside of state election statutes
specifically governing this process.
In the interest of free and fair elections, please issue an immediate clarification on this point.
I sincerely hope that your office can offer speedy clarification and guidance on this matter.
Thank you for your consideration.

Respectfully,

Catherine Engelbrecht
Founder
True the Vote

CC: The Hon. Alex Padilla, California Secretary of State

True the Vote | PO Box 131768 | Houston, Texas 77219-1768