John Turnacliff, chairman of the Marin County Republican Party, has retracted his earlier claim that deceased individuals cast ballots in the county’s November 2024 Proposition 50 special election. However, Turnacliff indicated he and his group intend to continue investigating voter roll accuracy and election procedures.

At a recent Marin County Board of Supervisors meeting, Turnacliff formally apologized for asserting that 73 dead people had voted in the special election. He acknowledged that his initial claim was unfounded and expressed regret for any concern his statement caused county officials and the registrar’s office. “I did not find them,” he said, emphasizing his desire to clear up the matter.

In February, Turnacliff had stated that the Marin GOP identified dozens of deceased voters allegedly participating in the Proposition 50 election, which redrew California’s congressional districts with a goal favoring Democrats. He had called upon Natalie Adona, the county’s registrar of voters, to investigate these accusations.

Following the assertion, Marin County conducted a voluntary review of the names provided by Turnacliff’s group. The registrar’s office determined that while up to five deceased individuals appeared on the submitted list, there was no evidence these individuals had cast votes after their deaths. This finding contradicted the original claims.

Turnacliff then conducted his own follow-up by accessing databases such as Ancestry.com to verify the status of the names on his list. Upon further examination, he realized that many of the supposed deceased voters were still alive. “I jumped the gun,” he told reporters, acknowledging his premature conclusion.

He said his public apology reflected a commitment to honesty and a wish to maintain a cooperative relationship with election officials, particularly as he plans to observe future vote counts and work with the registrar’s office going forward. Despite the apology, Turnacliff noted that some have misinterpreted it as denying the existence of voter fraud outright. He maintained that concerns over election integrity remain legitimate.

Turnacliff, who works in equipment leasing, began scrutinizing Marin County voter rolls after the 2020 presidential election, which he considered suspicious. He said his motivations are heartfelt and not politically driven. “There’s no political agenda,” he stated.

Looking ahead, Turnacliff’s group intends to continue investigating what they describe as “other irregularities” in local elections. He pledged that any future statements on the matter would be supported by “bulletproof evidence.”