Heidi Hall Disparages Constitution and Local Resident at LWV Forum

I was shocked to read in The Union about Heidi Hall’s blatant misrepresentations about the nature and result of recent litigation and her denigration of a local resident at the LWV candidate forum this week. 

Hall said, “Not too long ago, my opponent and her colleagues asked the County to submit to them Constitutionally protected private voter information about the 2020 elections through a public records request. After conferring with the Secretary of State who monitors and runs elections at the state level, the elections office declined to give them your private data, so they sued. Thankfully, a judge agreed that your private information must be protected and allowed the elections office to provide a few of the documents but with your name and data blocked.”

As co-counsel with Sue McGuire, I represented a local resident who sued Nevada County for public disclosure of records which one can already get in San Francisco County. The litigation lasted a little over a year and resulted in the County being forced by the Nevada County court to hand over the vast majority of the requested records and to pay attorney fees and costs. 

Hall Was Wrong about Most of the Details of the Case

In its June 21, 2023 order, the Court found: “Accordingly, on this record, the Court concludes that the following data can be redacted or anonymized from the audit log records: user names, device serial number or workstation identification information and specific batch numbers.” First, the County could redact some information if desired, but did not have to. Second, the information that the County wanted redacted was not related to names or private information but rather software-related information. Nowhere in the Court’s opinion did the Court find that the petitioner was asking for her neighbors’ names or private data. Despite digital ballot images already being online in San Francisco, the Court did not, however, order the County to provide them.

Hall said, “While I support government transparency, this lawsuit had no legitimate reason to begin with and achieved nothing in the end,” and also said, “This is a conspiracy motivated attack on our elections with no basis.”

The U.S. prohibits secret elections, and as such, the point of the lawsuit was government transparency under the California Constitution related to fair and open elections. Hiding public records is not transparent, so if the Nevada County Elections Office (supported by Hall) sought to bar disclosure of public records related to our elections, then by simple reasoning, they seek to conduct our elections, at least in part, in secret. Thanks to the Court, the petitioner ultimately received the public records. San Francisco County already provides the same records online and has for the last seven or eight elections. 

The Court concluded, “Our Constitution and our statutes expressly establish the public's right of access to information concerning the conduct of the people's business and provide that the right to obtain records reflecting how the government is going about its business is a fundamental and necessary right of every person in this state.” 

All of us have a right to know what Nevada County is doing, but it appears that Hall prefers to keep government actions secret and to malign a local resident for trying to shed light in the dark.

The County Cost Itself Tens of Thousands of Dollars Due to its Illegal Actions, but Hall Blames the Cost on a Local Resident for Blowing the Whistle

Hall said, “In fact, as taxpayers you have every right to be upset about this waste of funds. However, it costs the County, and that means your taxpayer dollars, tens of thousands to litigate and hundreds of hours of time for response. This is a conspiracy-motivated attack on our elections with no basis.”

According to Hall, when a citizen seeks to defend the constitutional rights of Nevada County citizens, and to ensure transparent and fair governance and elections, it is a “waste of funds.” Taxpayer dollars were wasted because the County of Nevada hid public records from its citizens. This case wouldn’t have been necessary if the Nevada County Elections Office obeyed the law. Rather than taking responsibility for what happens in County departments, Hall seeks to infringe on the constitutional rights of a local resident, act in secret, and then bully that resident with fabrications for political gain at a campaign forum.  It is time to change the culture at the Rood Center.