The Kern County Grand Jury has completed an investigation of the local elections office. Grand Jury Foreman Dwayne Ardis says they regularly investigate government offices and agencies but felt the timing was right to visit County Elections. He says recent talk by Donald Trump and others about a “rigged election” had them wanting to make sure it wouldn’t happen locally. The conclusion is that it’s not possible to tamper with the process locally because all the voting machines are separate from one another and ballots are randomized to prevent mass changes. Mail-in ballots have their signatures diligently checked against the signatures on file, so the Grand Jury says, rigging won’t happen here.

Sean Michael Lisle