(Orange County, CA) Supervisor vows no voting on religious holidays [View All]

Thursday, September 1, 2005

Supervisor vows no voting on religious holidays

County apologizes for election set for Rosh Hashanah.

By NORBERTO SANTANA JR.
The Orange County Register

SANTA ANA – County officials may be moving to abolish elections on significant religious holidays for all faiths.

Supervisor Bill Campbell announced the new policy on Wednesday after apologizing to Jewish community leaders for the scheduling of a special election for the 48th Congressional District on the holiest of their religious holidays.

(snip)

The issue arose in August after county officials scheduled the special election to replace U.S. Rep. Christopher Cox, R-Newport Beach, for Oct. 4. County officials Wednesday confirmed that Jewish leaders contacted them before the election was scheduled. Despite the concerns that had been raised, county officials scheduled the election on the first day of Rosh Hashanah. That drew criticism from Jewish leaders.

(snip)

On Wednesday, Acting Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley held a news conference to announce that he had met with Jewish leaders and agreed to institute early voting at a series of sites - including Jewish synagogues - to accommodate special needs. Early voting sites open Sept. 25.

(snip)

A Sacramento legislator has introduced a bill that could allow the governor to change the date of the Oct. 4 election. However, it's unclear whether there is time for a change.

(snip)

http://www.ocregister.com/ocr/2005/09/01/sections/local/local/article_657751.php