Supervisors OK Plan To Separate Registrar Of Voters From Other Duties

SONOMA COUNTY, CA ? The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors took the first step this week toward the creation of a new department to oversee local elections.

A proposed plan approved by the board would bring Sonoma County in line with most other counties in the state by appointing a Registrar of Voters to run the department.

Currently, the Sonoma County Registrar of Voters is an elected position that also holds the duties of clerk, recorder and assessor. Under the new structure, voters would still choose the clerk-recorder-assessor, but the board of supervisors would appoint the Registrar of Voters.

"The task of administering elections has become increasingly challenging in the past decade, to the point where it has become a full-time assignment for a department head," said Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, chair of the Board of Supervisors. "This change will give us a dedicated election official, and it will also eliminate the inherent conflict of interest in having an elected department head that is required to oversee their own election."

Over the last few years, a number of California counties have moved to recognize the increased workload and unique nature of the Registrar of Voters and have split to allow department heads to focus on elections.

Among 58 counties in California, Sonoma is one of eight with combined County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor-Registrar of Voters departments?and all but one are significantly smaller than Sonoma County.

There are 15 counties with more registered voters than Sonoma; nine have separate Registrar of Voters departments, while 10 have appointed department heads.

Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 1514, which added Sonoma to the list of counties that can have a separately appointed registrar of voters.

Sonoma County's current Clerk-Recorder-Assessor-Registrar of Voters, Deva Marie Proto, supports the move.

"As an appointed department head, the Registrar of Voters will have the benefit of being selected based on merit, not have to recuse themselves because they are on the ballot, and the ability to focus on their job instead of running for election," Proto said. "This is the right move as it increases the integrity and public trust in our election system."

The public will have another chance to comment on the proposal when the Board considers the second reading in February. It is anticipated that if approved, the new Registrar of Voters Department will be created at the start of the fiscal year on July 1. Human Resources will seek the Board?s approval on the Registrar of Voters job classification at an upcoming public meeting. The county would then need to conduct a months-long, executive-level recruitment to fill the position.

The new department head would be expected to oversee the next scheduled election on Nov. 4, when only seven small districts hold elections.

The 2026 election cycle includes a June primary and a November general election.