Donna Johnston

Sutter County

Donna Johnston is the elected Clerk-Recorder/Registrar of Voters and Ex-Officio Clerk of the Board of Supervisors for Sutter County, serving since 2008. In addition, she currently serves as the President for the California Association of Clerks and Elections Officials (CACEO), as well as the Certification and Training co-Chair which trains elections officials across California. Donna is the current Vice President of the California Clerks of the Board Association (CCBSA). She was the President of the County Recorders’ Association of California in 2017-19; and currently is the Information Systems Chair. Donna was appointed in 2021 to the US Election Assistance Commission Local Leadership Council. Donna also serves on the 3D PDF Consortium Standards Board.

She is a certified State Registered Elections Official (REO) and holds the Auburn University Certified Elections Registration Administration (CERA) credential. Donna was selected to represent CACEO on the Fair Political Practices Commission’s Enforcement Review Task Force to review the Commission’s enforcement policies and practices. Donna also holds a California Association of Counties California County Senior Executive credential.

Donna has an accounting background and has worked in county government since 1990. During this time, she has worked in various fields such as accounting, purchasing, behavioral health and information technology. She is a member of CRAC, CACEO and CCBSA, the County Clerks of the Board of Supervisors Association. She has taught Microsoft Office courses for local junior colleges since 2000, and holds a Microsoft Office Certified Master Instructor credential.

During her tenure, the Clerk-Recorder office has digitized records for easier access to the public and has enhanced web services for Sutter County citizens. The office completed a Military Service Records Assistance Project to reduce time for veterans seeking to obtain their needed benefits by replacing recorded Sutter County documents that had been destroyed in a 1973 fire at the National Records Center. Service These records allow those veterans to document their service to our country and to receive the benefits they sacrificed so much to earn.

Under Donna’s leadership, the Elections office has successfully conducted elections and has increased voter outreach and input from Sutter County citizens regarding the elections process. In April 2019, new voting equipment was approved for use in the 2020 Presidential elections, replacing equipment from 2005. A public forum was held to determine which system to purchase with attendees voting for their preferred system. As grant funding has been secured, technology supporting the elections structure has been added to streamline the voter experience, which has resulted in fewer provisional ballots issued for the 2020 election, which will continue for future elections.

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed on this page are solely those of the individuals and should not be construed in any way to represent the opinions of the County of Sutter.