Amid eroding trust in elections, Democratic groups walk a delicate line as they seek East Bay registrar’s removal

At a moment when election denial has spread across the country, eroding trust in government institutions and the political process, embattled Alameda County registrar Tim Dupuis is a key figure in a no-win situation for public officials and activists seeking to build faith in elections.

Over the past few years, Dupuis, who was hired in 2013 into a double role as the county’s election registrar and information technology director, has faced multiple problems in the election office and reams of criticism from voters and groups across the political spectrum.

In 2020, Dupuis’ office was accused by the regional American Civil Liberties Union and other voting rights groups of failing to post election materials in multiple languages, as required by the state; inadequately training poll workers; and failing to install ballot drop boxes in a timely manner. Then, in 2022, the registrar’s office committed the cardinal election sin of declaring the wrong winner in an Oakland school board election due to a vote-counting error made by a county vendor. The correct winner was only later named by an Alameda County Superior Court judge.

Last week, a broad coalition of Democratic groups in the Bay Area released an open letter contending that the registrar had disenfranchised younger voters, ignored requests from the public and press for transparency, and failed to give the role the attention it deserved by holding two county jobs simultaneously. These groups, consisting of the East Bay Young Democrats, Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club, and Coalition for Police Accountability, among others, said they believe that Dupuis cannot effectively administer a free and fair election.

The letter is, in some ways, a striking stance for Democratic-aligned groups. Since the 2020 election, it has traditionally been conservatives who have raised the specter of rigged, stolen or otherwise corrupt elections, often seizing on failures like those of Dupuis’ office to cast doubt on elections.

In this case, the concerns revolve around incompetence, rather than corruption. But for those seeking to restore faith in election integrity, there is a concern that continuing to highlight past missteps could make voters even less likely to become involved in the political process.

“The public trust in the system is really critically important, but the office is being attacked, I would say, by both sides now,” said Helen Hutchinson, a member of the League of Women Voters. “I don’t want to destroy trust in elections. I want to build public trust in elections.”

There are about 900,000 registered voters in Alameda County, with a population almost double that. In the 2022 midterms, 496,125 people cast ballots.

The Registrar of Voters is responsible for conducting federal, state, county and local elections. They also prepare and print ballots, recruit election officers, and tabulate the returns on election night.

The registrar reports to the county Board of Supervisors. In July, the board voted to establish an Elections Oversight Commission that would oversee the registrar. The commission includes five members nominated by the Board of Supervisors, members from the ACLU of Northern California, as well as other voting rights organizations. But the groups behind the letter contend that the commission alone is not enough.

“We are already facing a questioning of democratic and voting systems, and Alameda County deserves a full-time Registrar of Voters who is highly responsive to diverse voters and will not give anyone reason to question our democracy,” said David Weintraub, a member of Wellstone, one of the groups that signed the letter.

In the letter, the organizations asked the supervisors to dismiss Dupuis and hire a new registrar and said that they will “seek more responsive county leadership if the current supervisors fail to act.”

According to the California State Controller’s office, Dupuis made almost $350,000 across his two jobs with the county in 2022.

“This should not be a part-time job,” said Pamela Drake, a member of the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee. “It doesn’t matter what else you do if your votes don’t get counted correctly.” In the Bay Area, it is unusual for a head election official to hold two full-time jobs.

None of the five supervisors, nor Dupuis, responded to requests for comment on the criticisms being leveled.

Hutchinson said she was concerned about the fallout in having both conservative and progressive groups attack the election system, albeit for different reasons. She said she had faith that Alameda County would be able to effectively administer the coming primary election in March, in part because there is such a high degree of scrutiny on the county following previous failures.

“I can’t believe that staff isn’t on hyper alert now,” Hutchinson said.

Although voters in the Bay Area generally have faith in elections, that faith is not universal. A 2022 survey by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies found that 48% of registered voters in the Bay Area thought illegal voting posed some type of threat to U.S. democracy, although only 29% viewed it as a major threat.

Drake said Supervisor Nate Miley told her that he believed it was too close to an election to replace the registrar and didn’t realize both sides opposed his staying in his position.

Both Drake and Hutchinson acknowledged that the concerns do not solely lie at the feet of the county registrar. Staffing, procedures and training are all concerns that go beyond the scope of Dupuis’ immediate job. But after a series of missteps, observers on all sides of the political spectrum say changes are needed. It remains to be seen whether the Board of Supervisors will invest in those changes.

“This could be a litmus test for whether we endorse someone for supervisor. It just shows disrespect to the voter,” Drake said. “The county has to take it seriously.”