Office Accomplishments

By Mark Lunn

Mark Lunn designated by the national Elections Center as a "Certified Elections/Registration Administrator (CERA)," the first Ventura County official to earn this certification. This designation required completion of a 12-course curriculum at Auburn University. This is the highest professional designation available to elections and voter registration officials and has been achieved by only 3% of elections officials nationwide.

Mark Lunn identified the new core mission of the County Clerk and Recorder's Office as "preserving history and protecting democracy" for the customers, voters, and taxpayers of Ventura County.

Returned to the County General Fund and taxpayers a cumulative total of $2.3 million in budgeted net cost savings since 2010.

Opened the first Clerk and Recorder East County Office (located in the City of Thousand Oaks City Clerk's Department) to provide Clerk and Recorder services locally to the 40% of our customers who reside in the East County and to reduce the time and vehicle trips required to drive to the Government Center in Ventura.

Launched a redesigned County Clerk and Recorder integrated website with improved access, information, and customer service features. This included a first-ever "Election Night Reporting" feature to offer enhanced and customizable election results information, precinct reporting maps, and graphing capabilities to provide transparency and efficiency to Ventura County voters and local media.

Implemented Ventura County's first "Electronic Recording system" for real estate documents to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

Implemented Ventura County's first "Elections Voter Fraud Program" to identify, investigate, refer for prosecution, and deter all cases of potential voter fraud discovered during the voter registration, petition-circulating, and vote-casting process.

Negotiated contract for new campaign finance website to be launched in November 2013, offering a new Campaign Finance Online Filing software program with improved campaign finance reporting and online search capabilities for candidates, committees, and the public.

Automated elections process with state-of-the-art ballot processing equipment (signature verification/sorter and envelope opener/extractor) to reduce time and labor costs required to verify and process Vote By Mail ballots during an election. Mark Lunn's personal testimony before the California State Voting Modernization Board to request available State funding reimbursement for this equipment resulted in significantly higher savings than anticipated for local taxpayers.

Certified 16 federal, state, and local elections, including a record seven elections in a single year-2013.

Increased number of registered voters in Ventura County to record high of 426,948 during November 6, 2012 Presidential General Election as a result of targeted community and media outreach.

Installed integrated security camera system throughout the Clerk and Recorder and Elections offices to enhance customer and staff safety, prevent identity theft, and track movement of ballots and voting equipment during election periods.

Mark Lunn unanimously elected to the Board of Directors of the California Association of Elected Clerks and Elections Officials and as Secretary of the County Recorders' Association of California, to further represent the interests of Ventura County citizens on a statewide level.

Mark Lunn is a member of the Ventura County Real Estate Fraud Advisory Team (REFAT), a partnership of community leaders and experts dedicated to preventing and combating real estate fraud in Ventura County. Recent actions by the Clerk Recorder, in collaboration with the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, to combat real estate fraud have included: (1) mailing letters to homeowners alerting them about fraudulent loan modification services; and (2) mailing Quitclaim Deed Notices to homeowners notifying them when a change of ownership document has been recorded to protect homeowners from potential real estate fraud.

Participated in 29 community outreach events to register voters, recruit volunteers to work at the polls, and foster an awareness of elections and voting opportunities.

Implemented new office policy to require individuals to present valid identification when requesting certified copies of vital records (birth, marriage, and death certificates) to protect citizens from identify theft.

Connected the County Clerk and Recorder's Office with the online communities of Facebook, Twitter, and You Tube to provide 21st Century social media interface to Clerk and Recorder services and upcoming events

Installed Vote By Mail "drop-off box" outside the Ventura County Government Center Hall of Administration to allow voters the convenience of returning their voted ballots 24/7 without the need to park or schedule their visit during regular working hours

Redesigned County Clerk and Recorder official seal to reduce ability to counterfeit and to more accurately depict the three major divisions of the office: Clerk, Recorder, and Elections

Implemented ongoing historical restoration project to preserve official and vital records and ensure public access to these rare documents dating back to the 1800s

Mark Lunn met with the County Superintendent of Schools to identify additional opportunities for local high school students to acquire public work experience by volunteering as poll workers during elections

Expanded Spanish voice mail access capabilities for our Spanish-speaking customers

Reduced time to 10 business days required for customers to receive their official recorded documents in the mail

Implemented Online Voter Registration Program

Implemented new changes allowing uniformed (including our military) and overseas voters to request to receive their Vote By Mail ballot by e-mail (in addition to US Mail and FAX)

Redesigned a more modern and open Clerk and Recorder lobby area to encourage easier access and reduce waiting times for our customers

Introduced online marriage and fictitious business name applications for customers

Revised legislative, district, and precinct boundaries to conform with 2010 Census data

Introduced outdoor wedding ceremonies for larger wedding parties

Registered three new "domain names" to facilitate public online search for recording and elections information: (1) VenturaClerkRecorder.org; (2) VenturaVote.org; and (3) ClerkandRecorder.com

Strengthened security procedures for all visitors to Clerk and Recorder and Elections offices, including comprehensive video surveillance and new visitor identification badges and visitor log

Mark Lunn spoke at the Legal Clerk's night on January 14, 2014, at the Wedgewood Banquet Facility in Ventura. Mr. Lunn discussed recent legislative changes that affect the County Clerk and Recorder's office and our customers.

Mark Lunn and Supervisor Kathy Long co-introduced a new domestic partnership program at the Ventura County Board of Supervisors during the first of two public hearings on January 28. This new program will close the last-remaining gap by ensuring that all residents of Ventura County are afforded the full domestic partnership/marriage services available to them by law.

Mark Lunn participated in the "Voter Accessibility/Voters With Disabilities" seminar at the San Francisco Elections Center on January 30, 2014.

Community Outreach Events 2014 Oxnard Earth Day Festival (April 5-scheduled) Thousand Oaks Arbor Earth Day (April 5-scheduled) Latino Business Expo (April 24-scheduled) Simi Valley Street Fair (May 10-scheduled)

2013 Oxnard Earth Day Festival (April 6) Thousand Oaks Earth Day Festival (April 13) Simi Valley Street Fair (May 11) Santa Paula Citrus Classic Balloon Festival (July 27) Latino Business Festival Elections Outreach (September 26) Oxnard Multicultural Festival Elections Outreach (October 5) Thousand Oaks Street Fair Elections Outreach (October 20) Oxnard Tamale Festival (December 7)

2012 Latino Business Expo (April 12) Oxnard Earth Day Festival (April 14) Camarillo Earth Day Festival (April 21) Thousand Oaks Earth Day Festival (April 28) Simi Valley Youth Job and Career Expo (May 5) Latino Business Expo (September 27) Oxnard Multicultural Festival (October 6) 2011 City of Oxnard Earth Day Festival (April 9) Latino Business Expo (April 28) Thousand Oaks Earth Day Celebration (April 30) League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Conference (May 21) Santa Paula Citrus Classic Balloon Festival (July 29 and 31) Latino Business Expo (September 29) Oxnard Multicultural Festival (October 1) 2010 Santa Paula Citrus Balloon Festival (July 30-31) Latino Mobilization Action 2010 (August 25) Latino Business Expo (September 23) Oxnard Multicultural Festival (October 2) KKZZ 1400AM "The Dr. Bunny Show" (October 6) Area Board 9 Voters With Disabilities (October 12) Moorpark College Student Civic Day (October 14)

Elections Certified 2014 Gubernatorial Primary Election (June 3-scheduled) Gubernatorial General Election (November 4-scheduled)

2013 Ventura County Employees' Retirement Association General Member Election (February 19) Landowner General District Election (May 7) Oxnard Special Municipal Vacancy Election (June 4) Casitas Municipal Water District-Community Facilities District-2013-1 (Ojai) Election (August 27) 45th Assembly District Special Primary Election (September 17) Consolidated General Election (November 5) 45th Assembly District Special General Election (November 19)2012 Presidential Primary Election (June 5) Presidential General Election (November 6) 2011 Special Primary Election for the 17th Senatorial District (February 15) Landowner General District Election (May 3) Ventura County Employees' Retirement Association General Member Election (July 1) Ventura County Employees' Retirement Association Safety Member Election (July 1) Ventura County Employees' Retirement Association Retired Member Election (September 23) Consolidated General Election (November 8 ) 2010 Gubernatorial General Election (November 2)