State Republican Party officials Wednesday rejected state Secretary of State Alex Padilla‘s cease-and-desist order to stop using unauthorized ballot drop-off boxes that were found recently in Los Angeles, Orange and Fresno counties.
On Monday, Padilla issued the order following complaints about social media posts from Republicans advertising the use of the drop-off boxes. Padilla gave the Republicans a deadline of Thursday.
At issue is a new law that allows voters to authorize someone to deliver their vote-by-mail ballot to an elections office or place them in an official vote center box.
Padilla said the official vote center boxes are uniquely outfitted to secure ballots, unlike the unofficial ones utilized by Republicans. Padilla also said a deliverer of a ballot must sign the outside of the envelope.
Republicans, however, said their drop-off boxes serve the same purpose as so-called ballot harvesting in which volunteers deliver ballots for voters.
Attorneys representing the State Republican Party said in a letter to Padilla issued on Wednesday the new law did away with the requirement of a signature from a conveyor of a ballot.
Attorney Thomas W. Hiltachk said in the letter to Padilla that the drop-off boxes are a “perfect example of what you ‘proudly’ stated to be permissible just last year. In this case, voters have decided, for themselves, that they trust the staff and volunteers at their local political party headquarters, or their church, or a business that they patronize, to securely deliver their completed VBM ballot to the appropriate election official.”
Hiltachk said “identical programs were conducted without incident or objection from your office by the California Republican Party and other civic-minded organizations in connection with the 2020 primary election.”
Hiltachk did concede that some of the boxes in question should not have had signs on them advertising them as “official” drop-off centers and that going forward those designations would be removed.
Marc Elias, an attorney for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said “We are watching very carefully the steps law enforcement is taking… We appreciate the steps they’ve taken so far, but I can assure you we will protect the voters in California.”
Elias added, “Let’s start with their acknowledging the fact that what they’ve done is illegal,” referring to the admittance that they should not have been labeled as “official.”
Elias said taking off the “official” labels on the boxes does not let the party off the hook and that there need to be “consequences.”
If the Republicans do not abide by the Secretary of State’s order, “They are risking sanctions from the state,” Elias said.
“They are in serious legal jeopardy now for the actions taken and they’re only compounding those, having been warned that what they’re doing is illegal,” Elias said.
“We have not been shy where necessary to engage in voting rights court actions to protect voters. I’m hoping that’s not necessary here.”
Previous related story: State orders removal of ballot boxes found in LA County; GOP says they’re legal
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Hunters crack sack says
Orange man bad!
Reeeeeeeeeeeeee
Bob Dob says
Last presidential elections were ZERO GOP “voting harvesting mailboxes”…. If the GOP want to use this “loophole”, then they should label their vote harvesting mailboxes properly: place the GOP name on big letters.
It seems like, with this tactics, the GOP is creating confusion and trying to give the impression of “voter fraud”, as a desperate effort to invalidate what is coming on November 3rd…
Reform says
Republicans’ craft project: Fake ballot drop boxes. Kind of like those fake ATM machines. There are official and there are fake; you can tell the difference. It is against the law Republicans! Now the fake ballot boxes in front of gun stores and churches are a real hoot, and maybe the back room counters can shred the Biden/Harris votes.
Dave says
In 1 term, Trump administration had 215 indictments and 17 convictions.
Ten (10) hearings on Benghazi resulted in no convictions and…
-NO STAND DOWN ORDERS GIVEN
-NO WRONGDOING
-NO COVERUP
Mind you, Trump cult members that that was a Republican orchestrated witch/snipe hunt and found no witches or snipes.
How many indictments/convictions during the Obama terms? ZERO NADA NOTHING and the Republicans really tried. Either they are criminally inept or there was NOTHING. NOTHING I TELL YOU.
So, Trumpers please be careful as you constantly reveal your reptilian brains on steroids. Facts are not your friends.
Beecee says
Fight fire with fire.
Everything the left does backfires simular to Harry Reed ending the filibuster.
Ballot harvesting is shady to begin with so way be mad when the repubs adjust accordingly and use it to their advantage.
Dave says
Beceeeeeeeee The Republican Party will be gone next year along with Trump.
And, you want to talk about backfire.
Alexis says
Shame on all the pastors involved in Republican dirty tricks and urging their congregation to get involved.
Alby says
The GOP and weak, pathetic, lying, racist coward Trump are so desperate to try and win that they are attempting anything they can. However it’s too late for incompetent Trump
Alby says
You should change your name to Left-wing Alby. Shucks! Nowadays, there’s probably an AlbyGTQ that’s bound to type up comments here. Gotta love todays society… Not!
? says
“AlbyGTQ” ? That’s good.
Concerned citizen says
Somehow cardboard ballot collection boxes are ending up in churches. They look really official. Pastors are informing their congregation that ballots can be dropped off at the churches and will get turned in that way.
Just doesn’t seem right. Can’t trust it. Know that it might be legal but still…
Tim Scott says
Well, actually, no, it isn’t legal.
Unsurprisingly, the California Republican Party has endorsed illegal activity regarding voting. The intention is to further muddy the waters about whether the election, ultimately, can be invalidated somehow. This is a nationwide Republican effort, and California was ground zero for this operation because the GOP figures they have nothing to lose here.
Already, this “issue” is being raised by the governor of Texas as support for his position that Texas should only have ONE drop box per county. They want people driving a hundred miles to get to an official drop box…and this “look at all the trouble California is having” is how they are justifying it.
Notyou says
Love you Tim, but you can’t create your own facts. Ballot harvesting is LEGAL in California Democrats saw to that and have taken advantage of it for years. You can double talk and articulate youself from the facts. Let your minions do their own research.
Tim Scott says
Posting a fake “official ballot drop box” is BALD FACED illegal.
You are allowed to HAND your ballot to a PERSON that you trust to properly deliver it.
If you want to lie, find someone who doesn’t know the facts to lie to, republican.
Dave says
The Republicans can get the election thrown into the House of Representatives if neither candidate gets 270 votes in the Electoral College. Trump wins.
Each state gets 1 vote in the House and there are 26 orange states run by Republicans.
So, even if Biden wins in those orange states the Republican governors will claim fraud and try to get their electors to vote for Trump anyway.
Dishonesty is a feature of the GOP.
Here in Palmdale, Hofbauer was supporting churches using cardboard drop boxes which is illegal. He has since deleted that message. -from the Valley Press
Dave says
The good news is that if Biden wins big, it’s likely that the Democrats will also take the Senate and keep the House. It looks like Biden will win big in the popular vote.
So, if Trump is fraudulently installed as the puppet president, Speaker Pelosi will be able to impeach him again along with Pence who isn’t clean either. And, the Senate will convict this time.
Can you guess who then becomes president?
File this under FIGHTING FIRE WITH FIRE. If the GOP wants to play dirty , so can the Democrats, only they will be fighting clean in that case.
Fasten your seatbelts.
Really? says
Democrats have been playing dirty for years. How is using the rules enacted by Dem’s somehow illegal. Oh wait, it wasn’t meant to benefit Republicans so we must file lawsuits, cost millions and lose anyway. Seems like this is the method they have been trying for four years now. All have been fruitless.
Good news is….they will likely have four more years to run some more corrupt investigations up that pole of theirs. It’s a shame the pole has no flag on it, like an American flag.
Dave says
Really? does not know what he’s talking about. No specifics. Just right wing claptrap.
So, there’s that.
He’s probably with Qanon.
John Thomas says
The phony/fireman mayor of Palmdale is always looking for ways to skirt the rules, he cannot be trusted in any way.
Dave says
I don’t know what is the better outcome, for Hofbauer to win re-election and have to deal with the mess Trump has left the country in and which affected Palmdale or
he loses and Rex loses a minion, tool, or whatever.
Hofbauer has been a pathetic mayor and I notice all his fans from many months ago aren’t here to defend him. Although, I suspected that his “fans” were Hofbauer using aliases and he was defending himself. Pathetic.
Loam says
Well, actually it is legal. It’s called ballot harvesting.
And, yes, I agree with you that ballot harvesting is slimy has all. It’s crazy that people are legally allowed to go door-to-door to collect ballots to turn in or got to nursing homes to round up mail-in ballots. Unions are allowed to collect ballots from members to turn in. All of these opportunities offer chances to damage the integrity of the voting system.
Collecting ballots at church is also problematic, but it’s also legal based on ballot harvesting. I am all for ending ballot harvesting and stating that individuals need to turn ballots directly to a voting center, but one cannot say that one method is fine while another is wrong.
Instead of a box, would people rather a person is standing there to take ballots? A box is less likely to drop ballots or get COVID. A box can be closed while a person would still need to put his/her collected ballots into a container (a box?). Considering that ballot harvesting is legal, I am not sure what the exact problem is.
Tim Scott says
No, this is called “posting a fake drop box” and there is NOTHING legal about it.
Learn some facts, Republican.
A Tallent says
Everything he stated was factual. You can act as if it is not but it is and you are more than aware of it as well as applaud it, right up until it does not help your agenda. Name call, argue, whatever you do to state that ballot harvesting is not legal you will be wrong. Every time. Another liberal game that is being brought out into the open for all to see and it is deemed unlawful by the very same group that made it legal. Write bad legislation and sooner or later it will be brought to light. Just admit it and move on.
Tim Scott says
First off “ballot harvesting” is a made up term. When you say “ballot harvesting is legal” you just look stupid, because that term does not appear in ANY law, anywhere.
As I already said, what IS legal is for you the voter to hand your ballot to some PERSON that you trust with the task of getting it into the mailbox or an official drop box. That is what is allowed by law. It is what my parents (solid Republicans) did for decades when they handed their ballots to me and said “go put this in the mail.” No Trumpist dingbats ever popped out of the weeds and accused me of “ballot harvesting.”
But now you are using this made up term that has no legal standing to claim that me taking my parent’s ballot out to the mailbox is the same thing as some dingbat putting a shoebox on a streetcorner and marking it “leave your ballots here.” You are being just plain dumb.
Truthfully, I hope you are dumb enough to have dumped your ballot in a shoebox somewhere.