On Monday, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra sent various Republican leaders in California a cease and desist letter to stop “the coordination, use and/or false or misleading promotion of unauthorized and non-official vote by mail drop boxes.”
Jessica Patterson, Chair of the California Republican Party; Fred Vanderhoof, Chairman of the Fresno County Republican Party; Fred M. Whitaker, Chairman of the Republican Party of Orange County; and Dr. Richard Sherman, Chairman of the Los Angeles County Republican Party, have until Thursday to respond.
As of Tuesday, the Attorney General had “not gotten the word that we need that this will stop.”
"What steps they take will determine what steps the government must take or law enforcement agencies must take," said Becerra. "So it’s really up to those who are acting in ways that are contrary to the law to take action.”
Whoever has placed unofficial ballot boxes throughout the state could face civil and even criminal prosecution, depending on the conduct and evidence.
“The laws are pretty clear," he said. "The only entities that are authorized to collect ballots are those that are assigned by the county. And the only places to drop off a ballot officially are those designated by the county officially. And so there’s not a lot of ambiguity here.”
The California Republican Party wrote on Twitter, “It is amazing that [Secretary of State Alex Padilla] hasn't figured this out, when the law was passed in 2018 (AB 306) by Democrats. They wrote the legislation and voted for it. They set up the rules and the chess board. Now that Republicans are engaged, Democrats have a problem with it.”
Becerra responded, “They’re not playing chess. This is an election, and it’s clear under the rules. They just have to read our statutes, how to go about making sure that they abide by our election laws. They can play chess — they’re obviously not very good at playing that either, but this is an election, and we’re not interested in having them play with people’s ballots.”
Becerra’s goals are to maintain the sanctity of the vote and the integrity of the election process. He said he’ll do what he must to secure the ballots that have been found in unofficial drop boxes and ensure the soundness of those votes.
“It’s certainly disturbing if someone is trying to confuse voters, dupe them, take advantage of them," he said. "That should never happen. Not in a democracy. Not where you believe in free and fair elections."
The Attorney General had two messages for voters: Beware of where you put your ballot, and tell government officials if something seems fishy.
“Buyer beware: Be careful what you get into," he said. "If you see a box that says ‘Ballot Deposit Box,’ makes sure it’s one of the boxes that you looked up on a county website, and your county said this is an official drop site. [And if] you see the official seal for the county on that box, in every respect it’s official. At the same time ... if you see something, say something. Really help us. If you want to make sure your ballot doesn’t get thrown out, isn’t lost, isn’t tampered with, that your vote counts, then help us. If you see something that looks odd or strange, tell us.”
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