Santa Cruz voters concerned about electioneering
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION-TV)- The midterm elections are next week, and electioneering concerns are on the minds of some voters heading out to cast their ballots.
Mark Woodward has lived in Santa Cruz most of his life. He told KION he saw a group of people for "measure o"-- near the mobile voting site.
While the confrontation wasn't hostile, it was concerning, so he pulled out his phone and started recording.
“I was down here at the Farmers Market, and the ‘Yes on O’ people were here, and they had signs out, using a megaphone,” said Mark Woodward. “They were just about 40 - 50 feet over that way. The county had the mobile polling trailer set up where we're talking, and I estimated it to be about 50 feet.
That's when Woodward decided to call the Santa Cruz police. He said the group was too close to the mobile polling site.
“With what's going on with political campaigns, when you have things happening that shouldn't be, it's a big concern to me,” said Woodward. “No matter which side you're on, you need to play on an evening playing field.”
KION brought the video to the Santa Cruz County Clerk.
“I have since heard that there were some other people at a table or moving around advocating for a measure on the ballot,” said Tricia Webber, the Santa Cruz County Clerk. “My staff didn't know anything about this second incident. We didn't know anything until we saw the video and we were contacted by the police department.”
Woodward also said a van campaigning for Measure O across the mobile polling site.
“We asked the driver of the van to please move the van,” said Webber. “After some back-and-forth discussion, the driver did move the van to greater than 100 feet away from the vote mobile because that is a satellite office and a voting location.”
KION reached out to Our Downtown, Our Future, the group in favor of Measure O. In a statement, the group said, “The brief skit at one of the Magnolia trees slated to be removed unless Measure O passes was not organized by the Measure O campaign. My understanding is that the actors did not approach any voters or hand out any campaign literature. They were not campaigning. The Farmers’ Market asked Yes on Measure O to intervene, and we immediately asked them to stop the skit, which they did."
The Santa Cruz Elections Department said voters who come in wearing slogans or pins in favor or against a candidate or measure will be asked to remove it or cover it up.
The Elections Department said it's also constantly sweeping the voting booths for any campaign materials.
The California Secretary of State's website states people who violate the election process can face hefty fines or even jail time.
