It’s time to confront what’s happening in the Valencia County Clerk’s Office.
The problems we’ve seen over the past few years aren’t isolated, and they’re not minor. They are part of a pattern of ongoing administrative failures that undermine our confidence in one of the most fundamental responsibilities of county government: running free, fair, and accurate elections.
The most recent election exposed yet another serious breakdown — incorrect ballot tallies that had to be corrected after the fact. This isn’t just an error. It’s a travesty and an embarrassment for our county. More importantly, it puts voters in the position of wondering whether their votes were handled properly, counted correctly, or respected at all.
Read the News-Bulletin article on the latest fiasco by clicking here.
We deserve better.
Our voters deserve better.
And our democracy certainly deserves better.
At this point, it is clear that the issues inside the Clerk’s Office cannot and will not be resolved through internal fixes alone. The pattern has become too consistent, the failures too consequential, and the public trust too damaged.
That’s why it’s time for the Office of the Secretary of State to step in and conduct a full investigation into the operations, practices, and oversight within the Valencia County Clerk’s Office. We need an outside entity — one with expertise, authority, and no local political entanglements — to evaluate what went wrong, what continues to go wrong, and what must be done to protect the integrity of future elections.
This call isn’t about partisanship.
It isn’t about personalities.
It’s about the basic functioning of democracy in Valencia County.
We cannot continue to accept “mistakes” every election cycle and pretend this is normal. It isn’t. It’s unacceptable, and our community deserves transparency, competence, and accountability.
We are working closely with folks involved in the election administration in Valencia County and will be submitting statements to the SOS’s office in the coming days. We will keep you informed.
