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Link to full grand jury report here.

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Press release from the Humboldt County Grand Jury:

The 2022-23 Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury) Grand Jury has just released its first report of the year entitled Humboldt County Elections Integrity — It’s Okay to Vote!.

The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury directed one of its investigations into the voting procedures and the counting of those votes for the November 08, 2022 General Election. The current national political climate has prompted people to question the integrity and accuracy of even our local elections. The recent election provided the Grand Jury with an instructive opportunity to closely observe the process of voting and vote counting in Humboldt County with particular attention to election integrity and vote security.

The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury believes that having the ability to vote for government officials and laws, through an election process, is one of the greatest rights we have as American citizens. It allows us as people in our communities to determine who represents and governs us. Maintaining the integrity of the elections process, voter registration, ballot accessibility, polling locations and vote counting is essential to making us all a part of the democratic process.

The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury did an extensive study of the voting processes. We observed the pre-election testing of election equipment, training of poll workers and the initial processing of vote by mail ballots interviewing many of the personnel in charge. On Election Day, we watched the opening and closing of the polls and the first tabulation of votes at the Elections Office. In the end, we witnessed the final certification of the voting results.

The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury found that The Humboldt County Elections Office provides its citizens with a fair and impartial election accessible to all eligible voters. Our investigation began weeks before the November 2022 election. We wanted to observe voting by mail and how computer software maintained a fair and impartial voting system. We can confirm that county employees, volunteer citizen poll workers and independent monitors did a professional job. We did find some minor areas that could use improvement and the attention of the Elections Office and make recommendations that, if followed, will lead to an even better work environment.