News & Press

The Alameda County Registrar Makes Costly and Confusing Mistake

 (Oakland) – Alameda County Republican Party Chairman, Dick Spees, issued this statement today regarding the recent letter distributed by the Office of the Alameda County Registrar.

“The Alameda County Republican Party sees no reason to disbelieve the claims of the registrar that the bungling of this letter was simply a mistake.

“Mistake or not, the Republicans of Alameda County are outraged. The ambiguous wording in this letter and conspicuous lack of the word “Republican” served to anger and confuse thousands of lifelong Republicans who believed they were being forced from their party.

“We do not expect this letter to disenfranchise voters, but it does pose a threat to the integrity of the February election. This letter’s text and delivery has the potential to greatly skew the political process against Republican voters. By not addressing the possibility of re-registering and voting in the Republican primary, it is depriving voters of their full range of options and may unfairly increase Democratic votes. We are currently consulting with our legal team and meeting with the Registrar of Voters to clear up this matter and further safeguard the political process.

“We are also gravely concerned about the cost of this letter being passed on to the taxpayers. With the initial letter going out to 234,000 and being followed up by a clarification, the Registrar is sending out nearly half a million pieces of mail which have only served to confuse voters. We find it unacceptable that the citizens of Alameda County are the ones paying for this blunder."

If you have questions call our headquarters at 510-638-3414.