San Bernardino County Clerical Error Disqualifies Five City Council Candidates from November Ballot, Legal Challenges Possible

The Registrar of Voters (ROV) says it is collaborating with city and town clerks to address a clerical error that initially led five city council candidates to believe they had qualified for the Nov. 5 ballot when they had not.

The issue arose on Friday, Aug. 16, after the candidate filing period had closed. The ROV discovered the error, which impacted the evaluation of nomination petition signatures for city candidates. ROV staff reevaluated all petitions and identified eight candidates who were affected in total.

The error impacted candidates from the cities of Highland, Rialto, Hesperia, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Twentynine Palms, and the Town of Apple Valley.

Following the reevaluation, it was determined that five of the eight candidates did not meet the required number of valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. The ROV promptly informed the relevant city clerks of these disqualifications. The disqualified candidates may pursue legal challenges to secure ballot access. Any legal action must be resolved by Aug. 29, after which no changes can be made to the ballot.

Three of the affected candidates were allowed additional time to gather signatures due to an extension of the candidate filing period, which runs through 5 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 21. The deadline was extended in races where incumbents chose not to file for re-election.

The ROV addressed the situation by conducting follow-up audits to confirm the findings. Moving forward, the agency will incorporate additional audits into its candidate filing and petition signature review processes to prevent similar issues.

The ROV says it remains committed to conducting elections in a fair, transparent, and accurate manner while maintaining strong partnerships with city clerks. The agency continues to provide support to local clerks and candidates as the election process progresses.