by Daveda Gruber:
On Friday Governor Gavin Newsom made a big move by signing an executive order to send all registered voters in the state of California a mail-in ballot for November’s presidential election.
Newsom released a statement that read, “Elections and the right to vote are foundational to our democracy. No Californian should be forced to risk their health in order to exercise their right to vote.”
California is now the first state to automatically send voters ballots before the general election even though Newsom reiterated that residents of California will still have access to in person voting sites.
This unprecedented move comes in the mist of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many in person voting facilities in the state primaries have been closed due to the coronavirus crisis.
Concerns of fraud and abuse were immediately brought to light by Republicans. They have opposed the expansion of mail-in ballots out of fear it would lead to voter fraud. Republicans have also brought up the possibilities of legal challenges.
At this time the Republican National Committee said it is reviewing its legal options “to ensure the integrity of the election.”
California Republicans have noted problems in the state with voter rolls and a “motor voter” program to register new voters that led to hundreds of thousands of inconsistencies..
Allegedly, the errors that were reviewed did not allow anyone to vote who should not have been allowed to vote.
In a statement by Jessica Millan Patterson, who is chairman of the California Republican Party said, “To mail out millions of ballots to voter rolls have proven to contain alarming errors throughout the state is not a task that these Democrats can adequately manage or safely execute.”
President Trump has alleged that voting by mail is prone to corruption and he opposes the practice but he has not produced evidence of this.
Last month the President said, “Mail ballots, they cheat. Mail ballots are very dangerous for this country because of cheaters. They go collect them. They are fraudulent in many cases.”
On Friday Newsom put out a statement which reads, “Mail-in ballots aren’t a perfect solution for every person, and I look forward to our public health experts and the Secretary of State’s and the Legislature’s continued partnership to create safer in-person opportunities for Californians who aren’t able to vote by mail.”
Well then, it appears that Newsom disagrees with himself. He sent out ballots to vote by mail but believes some people cannot vote by mail because they’re unable to?
This is all rather contradictory to me. How can anyone predict what levels the coronavirus pandemic will be like in November? How does a governor unilaterally make these decisions? Does Newsom have a crystal ball?
Voting in person with identification would be the safest manner for any election to be fair. I’ll assume Newsom disagrees with me.
