Natalie Adona’s Election Certification Contested in Superior Court
Former Grass Valley Mayor Ingram-Spencer Contests Natalie Adona’s Certification of the Results of City’s Measure B Sales Tax Increase
The morning of April 23, 2024, Patti Ingram-Spencer filed a complaint with the Nevada County Superior Court contesting the results of Measure B in the most recent election on March 5, 2024. Measure B appeared on the ballot for those voting in the City of Grass Valley to vote yes or no to the approval of a sales tax increase to 8.875%. Ingram-Spencer, a Grass Valley resident and former mayor of Grass Valley, claims that several irregularities in the voting process indicate that Measure B may not have passed and that Registrar of Voters Natalie Adona certified results that were potentially erroneous. On March 27, 2024, Adona certified the election and concluded that Measure B passed by only 20 votes – a margin of less than half a percent.
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Ingram-Spencer alleges that, after analysis of the results, it appears that illegal votes were potentially cast, that voters who had a right to vote in that election were potentially denied their right to vote, and that Adona made enough errors to possibly change the result of the election, the certification of which was “unquestioningly accepted by the Nevada County Board of Supervisors” (Bullock, Hall, Hoek, Scofield, and Swarthout) on April 9, 2024.
Ingram-Spencer believes illegal votes may have been cast, meaning that people who do not reside in the City of Grass Valley were given ballots that included Measure B, an election for City of Grass Valley residents only. Additionally, people who do legally reside in city limits were allegedly denied their right to vote in the election receiving ballots without Measure B included. Ingram-Spencer aims to provide these findings to the Nevada County Superior Court for judgment.
Are Nevada County’s Voter Registration Records Mismanaged?
Ingram-Spencer also claims that Adona’s errors in handling the election were significant enough to have changed the result of the Measure B election. For example, the complaint claims that some ballots cast for Measure B cannot be attributed to any voter.
The complaint states that the issue is not with the voting machines or voting system but rather with errors in the voter registration records. The complaint suggests that Adona and the Nevada County Election Office mismanaged voter registration records to such an extent that the error rate impedes true and fair elections.
Other Issues Surrounding Measure B
Ingram-Spencer was among five opponents who submitted an argument against Measure B to the City of Grass Valley before the election, believing that Measure B itself was inappropriate for the ballot in the first place. They wrote, “To dedicate tax dollars to a specific purpose, it must be a Special Purpose Tax. A specific tax increase requires a ⅔ vote (more than 66%) and would ensure the money is dedicated to fire safety. Instead, proponents chose a general tax because it is easier to pass with a simple majority vote (more than 50%).” In an additional rebuttal, Ingram-Spencer wrote, “Don’t be misled! Measure B is a GENERAL TAX and can be spent without any restrictions. If the City of Grass Valley wanted to dedicate funds from a new sales tax exclusively for fire risk management, they would have!”
Tim McCall agrees with Ingram-Spencer’s issue by calling Measure B a general tax when it should have been presented as a special tax, saying “The tax revenue will flow to the City’s general fund, not a special fund, so reference to special purposes is misleading.” Others have raised concerns about Measure B, such as claims that its ballot language misled the public about the amount of revenue the sales tax increase would raise: the expected revenue from Measure B was communicated to voters as $3.4 million a year, when the city’s internal reports show it only able to raise $2.55 million.
Registrar of Voters Natalie Adona, Grass Valley City Manager Tim Kiser, and Contestant Patti Ingram-Spencer were each contacted for comment, but at the time of publication no replies have been received.
Disclosure: Barry Pruett, attorney for the contestant, is a member of Sierra Thread, LLC.