GRAND JURY COMPLAINTS
Scroll down to find your county’s Civil Grand Jury Citizen Complaint Form:
Document to be submitted with Civil Grand Jury complaints:
Grand Jury Power to be attached with a Petition or Complaint
See also at the bottom of this page examples of Civil Grand Jury Complaints & Confirmation of Receipt Documents.
After submitting a Complaint to your County Civil Grand Jury, please click the ‘Contact’ tab on the menu bar above to let us know which county you are in.
Thank you.
HELP SECTION:
(Please read the following information and instructions regarding submitting your Civil Grand Jury Complaint Form. If you need any help at all, please ask via the ‘Contact’ tab on the menu above.)
Your complaint should be against the department responsible for elections in your county. Your complaint could be against the County Elections Department, Elections Division, Registrar of Voters, or County Clerk’s office, although ‘Elections Department’ should be adequate. Checking your county’s Election webpage for the proper terminology and any other needed information is advised. See: All 58 CA County Election Websites
Issues that you could include in your complaint are your own experience of course, but also your concerns. Maybe you’re disgusted by massive voter disenfranchisement. Maybe you don’t trust that the county election results are accurate. Maybe you think that some election officials have committed election fraud, or maybe you just think that huge mistakes have been made, but either way you want the problems fixed.
You could include issues that have potentially undermined the accuracy and transparency of elections in your county, such as ballot custody, potential computer vote fraud, or obvious widespread voter suppression tactics (voters’ party affiliations being changed without their consent, their names being dropped from the voter rolls or from their polling place rosters, wrong ballots being given to voters, voters being forced to vote provisionally, misinforming poll workers during their training, etc).
You could include something about how our election officials, whether knowingly or not, abdicate their responsibility and violate the public trust, by delegating their governmental authority to private corporations that process our votes in secret, via secret “proprietary” software (that can be easily hacked, or pre-programmed, to falsify the results), and the fact that not even our election officials are allowed to inspect the source code of the secret software.
You might mention that secret vote counts are in violation of at least two standing U.S. Supreme Court decisions (Reynolds vs. Sims (1964) and US vs. Mosley (1915), in which the Court ruled that our right to vote consists of two parts:a) the right to cast a ballot; b) the right to know that our vote was counted accurately).
You might choose to mention that when the top election official in the county certifies the results, because of potential computer vote fraud as well as inadequate security and transparency of ballots’ chain of custody (broken chain of evidence), they will do so without actually knowing that the results they certify are accurate.
What you choose to include is entirely up to you. Write what you are concerned about, in whatever way you feel comfortable. The goal is to honestly lodge your complaint and motivate grand jurors to take action.
Your county’s form may ask what effort you have made to resolve the issue. A telephone conversation with someone at your elections department that does not resolve the issues should suffice.
You may be asked on your county’s form what actions you want to see happen, or what you would like the Grand Jury to do. Firstly, we want the Grand Jury to INVESTIGATE the matter. You could ask that the way the county elections are conducted is changed, to ensure transparency and accuracy, to ensure the chain of evidence (paper ballots’ chain of custody, as well as our votes in digital form) remains secure throughout the election process. You could write that your county election officials must stop delegating their authority, to ensure fair and honest elections, to private corporations and their easily manipulated, secret software. You could demand the return to hand-counted paper ballots – counted, posted, and reported, at EVERY local polling place, BEFORE the ballots are removed from public sight. You could ask for the indictment and removal from office any officials who have violated the public trust, or any other solution you think is needed. Write whatever you think is appropriate.
If you have any questions, please contact us at the ‘Contact’ tab on the menu bar above. If you need help, we are available.
(Also, once you have submitted your complaint, please let us know which County Civil Grand Jury you submitted it to. Thanks!)
Many county’s have instructions on the form itself. Others have instructions on their website.
Links to the websites of all 58 County Grand Juries in California are available at the California Grand Jury Association (CGJA) website here: http://cgja.org/county-grand-jury-websites — and a list of mailing addresses is here: http://cgja.org/california-grand-juries-mailing-addresses
A few county’s allow the option of submitting your complaint online. If submitted online, please attach supporting pages if possible (if not possible, after submitting online, please also mail a copy of the complaint along with any supporting attachments you have). In many counties, you may also be able to submit your complaint in person. If you do that, please get a time-stamped receipt.
Alameda County: http://www.acgov.org/grandjury/complaintform.pdf
Alpine County: http://www.alpine.courts.ca.gov/GrandJury/tabid/58/Default.aspx
Amador County: http://www.amadorcourt.org/divisions/civil/grandjury/complaint-form.pdf
Butte County
Complaint Form: http://www.buttecounty.net/Portals/1/GrandJury/GrandJury_ComplaintForm.pdf
Instructions: http://www.buttecounty.net/Portals/1/GrandJury/GrandJury_Instructions.pdf
Calaveras County: http://calaverasgov.us/Portals/0/Docs/Grand_Jury/Forms/Citizen%20Complaint%20Form.pdf
Colusa County: http://www.colusa.courts.ca.gov/misc_forms/Grand%20Jury%20Complaint%20Form.pdf
Contra Costa County: http://www.cc-courts.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.ViewPage&pageId=4186#matters
Del Norte County: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-vzumQqRc0gdXRFT1hjLWxld0k/view?usp=drive_web
El Dorado County: http://www.edcgov.us/Government/GrandJury/Forms.aspx
Fresno County
Complaint Form: http://www.fresno.courts.ca.gov/_pdfs/Fresno%20County%20Civil%20Grand%20Jury%20Complaint%20Form.pdf
Instructions: http://www.fresno.courts.ca.gov/_pdfs/Fresno%20County%20Grand%20Jury%20Complaint%20From%20Instruction%20Sheet.pdf
Glenn County: http://www.countyofglenn.net/govt/agencies/grand_jury/documents/grand_jury_complaint_form.pdf
Humboldt County: http://humboldtgov.org/DocumentCenter/View/54457
Imperial County: http://www.co.imperial.ca.us/CivilGrandJury/PDFdocuments/CivilGrandJuryCitizenComplaintForm.pdf
Inyo County: (Inyo Co. Grand Jury website and complaint form have not been found yet. A phone call is recommended. If you locate them, please let us know. See links below.)
http://www.inyocounty.us/index.htm
Kern County: http://www.co.kern.ca.us/grandjury/Complaint.aspx#.V3NVF6IuF1M
Kings County: http://www.kings.courts.ca.gov/grandjury/grandjury.asp#A%20WORD%20ABOUT%20THE%20CITIZEN%20COMPLAINT%20FORM
Lake County: http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Assets/Grand+Jury/Form/2009+Complaint+Form.pdf?method=1
Lassen County: http://www.lassencourt.ca.gov/forms/grand_jury_complaint_form.pdf
Los Angeles County: http://www.lacourt.org/forms/pdf/CitizensComplaint.pdf
Madera County: http://madera-county.com/index.php/2012-08-15-18-07-30
Marin County: http://www.marincounty.org/~/media/files/departments/gj/request_for_investigation_by_the_marin_county_civil_grand_jury.pdf
Mariposa County: http://www.mariposacounty.org/index.aspx?NID=569
Mendocino County: http://www.co.mendocino.ca.us/grandjury/pdf/complaintform.pdf
Merced County: http://ca-mercedcounty.civicplus.com/index.aspx?NID=334
Modoc County: http://gsmall.us/GJ/
Mono County: http://www.monocourt.org/grand_jury_citizen_complaint.htm
Monterey County: http://www.monterey.courts.ca.gov/Documents/GrandJury/2013/2013-Citizen-Complaint-Form.pdf
Napa County: http://www.napa.courts.ca.gov/sites/default/files/pdfs/Grand%20Jury%20Complaint%20form%20English.pdf
Nevada County: http://www.nevadacountycourts.com/services/jury_info/complaint_form.htm
Orange County: http://www.ocgrandjury.org/instructions.asp
Placer County: http://www.placer.courts.ca.gov/grandjury/grandjury_forms.html
Plumas County: http://www.countyofplumas.com/DocumentView.aspx?DID=1696
Riverside County: http://www.riverside.courts.ca.gov/grandjury/grandjurycmpltform.pdf
Sacramento County: http://www.sacgrandjury.org/documents/complaint.asp
San Benito County: http://www.sanbenitocountygrandjury.org/gjcomplaintform.htm
San Bernardino County: http://cms.sbcounty.gov/grandjury/CitizenComplaints.aspx
San Diego County: http://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/grandjury/complaint_form.html
San Francisco County: http://civilgrandjury.sfgov.org/complaintforms/GJ_Complaint_Form_PDF.pdf
San Joaquin County: https://www.sjcourts.org/divisions/civil-grand-jury/complaint-form/
San Luis Obispo County: http://slocourts.net/grand_jury/citizen_complaint_forms
San Mateo County: (Instructions are at the following link, but it appears that no specific form is required. A phone call could be helpful.) http://www.sanmateocourt.org/court_divisions/grand_jury/faqs.php?h=3#4 )
Santa Barbara County: http://www.sbcgj.org/complaint.asp
Santa Clara County: http://www.scscourt.org/forms_and_filing/forms/AD-1022.pdf
Santa Cruz County: http://www.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/Portals/0/poComplaintFormEnglish.pdf
Shasta County: http://www.co.shasta.ca.us/docs/Grand_Jury/docs/Citizen_Complaint_Fillable.pdf?sfvrsn=0
Sierra County: http://www.sierracounty.ca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/175
Siskiyou County
Complaint Form: http://www.co.siskiyou.ca.us/sites/default/files/docs/CAO-CitizenComplaintForm_201311.pdf
Instructions: http://www.co.siskiyou.ca.us/sites/default/files/docs/CAO-CitizenComplaintFormInstructions_201311.pdf
Solano County: http://solano.courts.ca.gov/materials/GJ%20Complaint%20Form.pdf
Sonoma County: http://sonoma.courts.ca.gov/sites/all/assets/pdfs/general-info/grand-jury/complaint1.pdf
Stanislaus County: http://www.stanct.org/sites/default/files/replace_up_file/55-COMPLAINT%20FORM-2.pdf
Sutter County: http://www.suttercourts.com/general-info/grand-jury/submit-complaint
Tehema County: http://tehamacourt.ca.gov/forms/GRAND_JURY_COMPLAINT_FORM.doc
Tehama Co. Grand Jury site (missing from the list at CGJA.org): http://tehamacourt.ca.gov/grand_jury.htm
Trinity County: http://www.trinitycounty.org/index.aspx?page=95
Tulare County: http://tularecounty.ca.gov/grandjury/index.cfm/forms/complaint-form/
Tuolumne County: http://www.tuolumnecounty.ca.gov/index.aspx?NID=387
Ventura County: http://vcportal.ventura.org/GDJ/docs/complaint.pdf
Ventura Co. Grand Jury site (missing from the list at CGJA.org): http://www.ventura.org/grand-jury
Yolo County: http://www.yolocounty.org/home/showdocument?id=2374
Yuba County: http://www.co.yuba.ca.us/departments/grand%20jury/documents/GJ_Complaint.pdf
The document linked below should be submitted with Civil Grand Jury complaints:
Grand Jury Power to be attached with a Petition or Complaint
Examples of Civil Grand Jury Complaints & Confirmation of Receipt Documents:
Petition Example – Siskiyou County 2016
Example Petitions and Confirmation of Receipt from LA County 2012
Links to the websites of all 58 County Grand Juries in California are available at the California Grand Jury Association (CGJA) website here: http://cgja.org/county-grand-jury-websites — and a list of mailing addresses is here: http://cgja.org/california-grand-juries-mailing-addresses
If you have any questions or suggestions, or need any help with your complaint, please contact us via the ‘Contact’ tab on the menu bar at the top of this page. Thanks.