Finally, it is clear the editorial relied upon the statements of the principal proponent of the legislation, Rep. Hal Slager, who, the editorial stated, “… aptly pointed out the law doesn’t compel the county to actually consolidate any precincts.” Nothing could be further from the truth, as one only needs to read the following excerpt from the legislation to realize: “(f) Not later than noon August 1, 2014, the Board of Elections and Registration shall: (1) Adopt a proposed precinct establishment order implementing the findings of the committee.” There is no wiggle room in that language. The legislation mandated the board to implement the findings of the committee, which findings would, through a simple mathematical calculation, establish there were precincts in Lake County less than 500 and would result in a consolidation of the precincts. To state otherwise is clearly misleading. Interestingly enough, Slager, prior to the consideration of this legislation, never met nor discussed this proposal with the executive director, chairman or legal counsel of the Election Board, the Chairman of the Election Board, as is the usual case when a legislator considers some type of election legislation. They first attempt to gather the facts from the board and its staff, to ensure the legitimacy of the legislation. Had that been done, the legislation either would not have seen the light of day, or would have been applicable to all counties.
Posted on: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 16:40:42 +0000
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