California Officials lowered the temperature, Friday Oct. 16th, in their Legal Standoff with the California Republican Party over its Unauthorized Ballot Boxes, saying the Party had Committed to enough Changes for now to Satisfy their concerns.
Secretary of State, Alex Padilla (D), said the State GOP had Agreed to “no longer deploy these unstaffed, unsecured and unofficial ballot drop boxes.” The Practice had Drawn National interest as the Major Parties jockey for Seats in California Congressional Battlegrounds that Democrats won in the 2018 Midterms, and as Republicans continue to Attack the State's Election System.
The California Republican Party said it would continue to Accept Mail Ballots at Boxes but promised some Safeguards: The Boxes will be attended to whenever the Public has Access to them, and Ballots will be Secured and then Delivered to Elections Officials within the required 72-hour frame, the Party said. The Party Pledged to Not Represent those Boxes as “official,” saying a Volunteer had done so in Error, while arguing that the Process was Legal due to a 2018 Law that loosened Collection Requirements.
"If they want to continue ballot collection activity, that is legal in California, but they must abide by state law around the ballot collection program," Padilla said.
“The Secretary of State and Attorney General didn’t know the facts and didn’t bother to learn them before accusing us on Monday," Spokesperson, Hector Barajas, said in an emailed Statement. "We can't agree to not do something we weren't doing to begin with. They could have shortened this press conference by simply saying ‘Sorry.’"
California Law allows Third Parties to Collect completed Mail Ballots from Voters and then Deliver them to Election Officials. Republicans have long Derided that Practice as “ballot harvesting,” but they now say they are simply matching Democrats by engaging in the tactic with Drop Boxes in Republican-friendly Locations.
Critics argue that Democratic Volunteers have followed Legal Safeguards that the Republican Boxes shirked.
Padilla said the State would continue to Monitor the Situation, while California Attorney General, Xavier Becerra (D) said the State had Subpoenaed GOP Officials as part of an ongoing Investigation and would “wait to see what the Republican Party does.” “If there is any indication of state law being violated we will not hesitate to act on it immediately,” Padilla said.
While California Law prevents a Ballot from being Invalidated if its Collector does Not include Necessary Information, the Person accepting the Ballot can still face Criminal Liability. Padilla’s Office said in its followup Statement the “ineptitude or unlawfulness of a political operative or campaign volunteer” who handles Ballots could Lead to “serious legal consequences.”
The Republican Party Rejected that view. “I wish there was a chain of custody requirement in the law. There isn’t,” Attorney Thomas Hilchatk said, adding that “the fact is, the secretary of state is wrong.”
Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) said Thursday the State GOP was "off the rails" with its Unauthorized Ballot Boxes, calling it "Mickey Mouse stuff that, you know, has serious kind of effects."
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