What’s the matter with Los Angeles When It Comes to Elections?

Logan has no college education and his CERA (Certified Elections/Registration Administrator) “degree” is the result of a 15-day course with the “Election Center” - a private non-profit organization with close ties with e-voting machine vendors. Previously, Logan was the Registrar of King County Washington – a district half the size of Los Angeles – but resigned to escape mounting criticism and a lawsuit that charged he chose "expediency over accuracy and equality" in counting votes.

Logan’s Role in the “Double Bubble” Ballot Fiasco

Prior to the February election Logan had been warned about the problems McCormack’s ballot could cause. Unfortunately for Los Angeles voters, he did next to nothing.

As the scope of voter disenfranchisement became increasingly apparent, Logan made no effort to ensure these votes were counted. Instead, he argued a recount was only necessary if it would demonstrably change the official election tallies. Further demonstrating his opposition to a recount was his unsubstantiated claim that the intent of the 60,000 uncounted ballots would be "impossible" for his office to correctly interpret.

Logan’s indifference to the Constitutional rights of California voters and his overt opposition to rectifying an electoral injustice of this magnitude should send chills down the spine of anyone who believes that the sanctity of “the vote” – and the public trust in the integrity of the electoral process – are the fundamental pillars of our democracy.

As public outrage mounted and the press began asking tougher questions, Logan sought to shift the blame by disingenuously claiming his office had educated poll workers and voters how to properly fill out McCormack’s now infamous “DTS” voter ballot. This “blame the voters and poll workers” canard has since been widely contradicted by countless voters, poll monitors and poll inspectors.

Due to the intense public pressure orchestrated by the Courage Campaign, growing public outrage, and the threat of a lawsuit, Logan finally agreed to count 48,525 of the “rejected” ballots. Nevertheless, an unacceptable 12,000 valid and legally cast votes remain uncounted to this day.

Had the victory margin in a Presidential election been razor thin, we shudder to think of the electoral crisis that would have ensued.

Growing Coalition Demanding New Registrar and Independent Investigation

Mr. Logan’s (and Ms. McCormack’s) conduct before, during, and after the February Primary has undermined the integrity of Los Angeles elections, badly damaged the public trust in the office of Registrar, and subverted the democratic principles he was entrusted to protect and defend.

A growing coalition of concerned citizens, civic organizations, voting integrity groups and election experts are now seeking answers and reforms. In particular, those are:

• The Board of Supervisors begins a search for a new, qualified election chief with an unimpeachable record.

• That a thorough, independent, criminal investigation be conducted by the State Senate's Election/Constitution committee, the Secretary of State, the State Auditor, or the Office of the Attorney General in order to answer that all important question: “Did Los Angeles officials go into this election season knowing there was a good chance tens of thousands of voters would not have their presidential vote count?”

The voters of California and Los Angeles deserve no less.

Note: We urge readers to contact the LA Board of Supervisors to insist that they appoint the best and the brightest Registrar who applies for the position.

Sherry Reson and Don Goldmache rare co-chairs of “Stand Firm with Debra Bowen” and members of the CA Democratic Central Committee. Don is also the chair of Election Integrity of the Progressive Caucus of the CA Democratic Party. Zack Kaldveer is a member of “Stand Firm with Debra Bowen”.