Supervisor Blames Board’s Tight Budget For Slow Election Count

Supervisor Bob Buster told his colleagues today that the registrar of voters should have discretion to “spend the money necessary” to avoid the kind of delays that bogged down the ballot count after the June 8 primary.

“One reason she was restrained in her ability to get the count out was that her budget was restrained,” said Buster, who was the acting chairman during today’s Board of Supervisors meeting. “That came directly from the board here.”

Registrar of Voters Barbara Dunmore cut her agency’s budget more than 5 percent in fiscal year 2009-10 to meet a cost-savings mandate imposed by the board on virtually all county agencies.

Dunmore also hired fewer temporary workers and capped overtime to hold down expenses.

The processing of some 226,000 ballots cast in the primary election lasted more than five days, making Riverside County last to report its results to the California Secretary of State.

“I want (the registrar) to be able to feel free to spend the money necessary to deal with unexpected surges in mail-in ballots or other events,” Buster said.