On Monday, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors re-voted on a previously settled measure regarding the approval of four satellite voting offices. These new voting stations would be available for the primary elections in March.
While it may not be clear why such a measure is relevant or deeply consequential, the process that the County Supervisors underwent to reach their “new” decision should be deeply concerning to anyone who values democratic norms and our political institutions.
It is unclear why the Board decided to take up the issue again just days after having already voted on it. Supervisor Kristin Gaspar took the lead in addressing the absurdity of the reversal, explaining that there was no justification “to revisit a vote that we have already made, to overturn the will of this board.”
Our Board held an emergency meeting to re-vote a decision we made last wk. Apparently, when you can't count to 4, you simply change the rules & count to 3 instead. Ironically, an item abt voting was brought forward by ignoring a vote! #TheFixIsIn Video: https://t.co/tCAdxOPgFl pic.twitter.com/3T2cwPokdG
— Kristin Gaspar (@KristinDGaspar) November 5, 2019
The change is not without consequence, however, as the new satellite offices will cost about $1 million between salaries and supplies. The evidence that the new offices are needed is seemingly nonexistent, but that didn’t stop some of the other County Supervisors—such as Nathan Fletcher—from using all means available to reverse course on an already decided issue.
What’s the point of elected bodies voting on issues if they’re just going to backtrack a few days later? As Gaspar explained last week, this move threatens the integrity of our governmental institutions by abandoning procedural norms.
Regardless of how you feel about the satellite voting centers, the integrity of the County and the process of how we operate as a Board could be seriously compromised by Monday's new vote. I explained on @KUSINews https://t.co/6jW4gjT7PB The public deserves better. pic.twitter.com/gniSGOWuBu
— Kristin Gaspar (@KristinDGaspar) November 2, 2019
Republican Party of San Diego County Chairman Tony Krvaric also noted the stunning betrayal of some members of the Board of Supervisors.
Fireworks at the Board of Supervisors where @KristinDGaspar excoriates the board majority for playing fast and loose with our democracy and process. Shame on @dianne_jacob and @SupervisorCox for letting @LorenaSGonzalez' husband run the show. https://t.co/zqX5DdFsaE cc: @sdut
— Tony P. Krvaric | #1A #2A #MAGA | 🇺🇸🇸🇪🇭🇷 (@TonyKrvaric) November 5, 2019
While it remains to be seen how committed the County Supervisors will be to upholding the procedures underlying the institution, we can rest assured that Supervisor Gaspar will continue to fight for legitimacy and integrity—regardless of political pressure.
