State officials said they’re prepared to fight any perceived interference from the Trump administration in the final weeks before the Nov. 3 election.
That was one key takeaway from a Tuesday election information roundtable organized by California Secretary of State Shirley Weber.
Two days later, the Trump administration sued California election officials for refusing to block 20,000 alleged noncitizens from voting in the upcoming election. The U.S. Department of Justice had provided the list of names on a password-protected thumb drive, but Weber said the agency didn’t provide evidence for its allegations, The Associated Press reported. Noncitizen voting is extremely rare in the U.S., according to elections experts.
During the roundtable, Weber said state officials have game planned various contingencies in case the Trump administration tries to exert undue influence over California’s election.
“We have a number of attorneys that work with us on elections … They’re prepared to go to court if someone’s trying to stop the election,” she said. “So we have a plan in place to make sure they’re safe and secure.”
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said during a Thursday news conference that the Trump administration’s request regarding alleged noncitizens would violate federal law preventing voter roll changes close to an election.
State officials have also raised alarms that the federal government may send election monitors to California, seize ballots from elections office or deploy immigration agents to polling places.
More than 60% of Californians shared “major concern” that the Trump administration would interfere in the election, according to a late August poll conducted by UC Berkeley and the Los Angeles Times. Meanwhile, about 40% of respondents had major concern over voter fraud and noncitizens voting.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly cast doubt on California’s elections, including the length of time it takes to count ballots.
Congressman Scott Peters, who represents part of San Diego County, reasserted his confidence in California’s electoral system during this week’s roundtable. But he still said voters should cast their ballots as early as possible.
“It will make the secretary of state’s job easier. Get those votes counted faster,” he said. “And we won’t have such a lag we typically have in California. I’m annoyed by that lag, but I do recognize that it’s our attempt to make sure everyone can vote.”
California has more accessible mail voting than many states. Mail ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and reach an elections office within seven business days. Election officials then have 30 days to tally votes, reach out to voters about issues with their ballot then ultimately certify the results.
Election officials rejected nearly 150,000 ballots during the June primary, according to data from the secretary of state’s office. That’s a big spike from recent elections.
Most of the rejected ballots weren’t mailed or dropped off in time.
Tricia Webber, president of the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials, said during Tuesday’s roundtable that voters shouldn’t wait until the last minute to drop their ballot off.
That’s because mail no longer necessarily receives a postmark when it’s left at a post office. Thanks to a recent USPS policy change, mail in some areas is driven to a processing facility in a different city before receiving a postmark, which can take a day or longer.
“So if they’re postmarked later, it’s possible it was not postmarked on Election Day or by Election Day, even though people put it in the mail with what they thought was enough time,” Webber said.
A missing or mismatched signature is the other most common reason for a mail ballot to be rejected.
You can track the status of your ballot online using the state’s “Where’s My Ballot?” portal.
