As many have probably seen this week/weekend on social media sites and other popular news outlets, California has become one of the first main examples for what many predict is just the beginning for election tampering and possible fraud in the 2020 General Election.
In Los Angeles, Fresno and Orange Counties more than 50 "deceptively labeled “official” drop boxes for mail-in ballots" have been placed around, with the California Republican Party admittedly responsible. While many were quick to jump to the conclusion that these actions and boxes were illegal and that the state GOP ought to be penalized right away, the true legality behind third-party ballot collection remains a little more complicated.
According to the LA Times, "Republicans assert that they are operating under a 2016 state law that allows an unlimited number of completed ballots to be collected by an individual or political parties and campaigns." However California’s secretary of state Alex Padilla argues, "that the boxes were not covered by legal protections, because they were intended to 'mislead voters and erode the public trust' ” (NYT).
A main reason behind Mr. Padilla's claim is grounded in the fact that many of the boxes were labelled as "Official Ballot Drop off Box[es],” making them "virtually indistinguishable from drop-off sites sanctioned by the state," to an average voter. State sanctioned drop-off sites are under strict regulations to prevent "partisan manipulation of ballots," of which these were not.
Republicans push back against Mr. Padilla, with biased-wording stating “the way Democrats wrote the law, if we wanted to use a Santa bag, we could," (NYT). Thus calling out the Democrats for putting the law into effect, justifying their file-cabinet boxes, and also seemingly attempting to shift the blame and away from their own party.
Officials claim to have removed the "official" wording from the boxes this weekend, nonetheless subpoenas have already been issued, launching an investigation "into how the containers have been used in at least three counties" (LA Times). Therefore the focus should remain on these subpoenas, which will ultimately expose what has gone on in these counties.
8 comments:
As pessimistic as it may be, my prediction is that dirty tricks like this one are only going to increase, and on both sides. Especially if the California GOP does not get punished or the fake ballot boxes aren't taken down, there will be some democrats tempted to think that the only way to make the election "fair" would be to start putting up their own fake ballot boxes. Things may only escalate further from there.
Or perhaps 2020 is just a uniquely awful year and things will calm down in the following years/elections.
This whole "fake" ballot box "scandal," if you can even call it that, is really confusing to me. I am unsure why either party would feel any hint of deception such as this would benefit them. If the GOP was truly trying to eliminate some of the Democratic ballots, are these fake drop boxes not risking that Republican voters would lose their ballots in the boxes as well? What was the GOP's actual motive, if it was not to create confusion?
It is really hard to believe that an official party would be involved in cheating such as this, but I can't imagine what other reasons the GOP would have for these "ballot boxes."
Brandon and Claire- I agree with points that both of you made, it was definitely challenging to find credible information on this issue, as both parties can be seen to have their influence in the media coverage. To Claire's point, I, too, was also confused on why either party would want to be associated in a "scandal"so close to the election. It seems counterintuitive, however this week's Ch7 reading made me think of the idea that "all publicity is good publicity." I don't know if this directly applies in this case, but it was effective in getting the "Republican name" into some California headlines, a deep-blue state. Brandon I also have to agree with you in that I expect to see more "dirty tricks" leading up to and on election day, as this election brings new challenges due to COVID-19 restrictions, where parties might try to see what "slip through the cracks." That is just a personal prediction, so please do not take my word for what parties might try to do to "influence" voters, we will all just have to wait and see what prevails.
To play "the devil's advocate" in this situation, I do think the GOP made a fair point in saying the democrats made it even possible to create fake ballot boxes in the first place. In fact, some may even consider it to be a strategical by the GOP, as they used democrat voices to expose a flaw in government created by democrats. That being said, that isn't how the law was intended to be used, and instead it was meant to allow for polling. It isn't morally acceptable to take people's voices away from them under their own noses. The GOP does these kinds of things so frequently now, though, that I am less angry at them and more disappointed at how things have fallen apart. The parties have become so unwilling to compromise with each other to try to tackle the best interests of both sides that it has become a standstill of discontent in the government. With the GOP throwing more blows, as seen during the first debate and by the ballot boxes, it is apparent that they are on the offensive more than democrats, although that isn't to say democrats don't go on the offensive either. I don't think the best way to fix the problem is to get angry at the GOP either; they (somewhat) followed the law, although connivingly, and in a most basic form represent a different point of view, which is supported by the Constitution. In my opinion, the fake boxes should be forcibly removed, and then compromise and talks must be made between both parties to reduce the hostility. Hostility in response to hostility just ends up with two people yelling at each other (a familiar strategy seen during the first presidential debate) and doesn't actually accomplish creating a more unified nation.
I am confused like Claire is. Are these ballot boxes actually being sent in to be counted? When I first read the headline, I thought it meant they were fake ballot boxes and some one was going to throw away the ballots people put in there. If that were the case, that would be totally illegal, and totally sneaky. Imagine if Republicans put their own ballot boxes around liberal areas, then trashed the ballots that were put in. That would totally be election tampering and on a grand scale, shift the voting outcomes in California. But once I read the article it seams like that is not the case. It seems like its just extra ballot boxes that arn't official, but they are still going to be sent in. If that's the case, then I don't understand what the big issue is. Republicans want to make it easier to mail in votes? Okay, sounds good to me!
Just like everyone else who has commented I believed that this article was about putting up illegal ballot collecting boxes that would end up tampering and that they would be trying in the slightest degree to change the vote. When I began to read the first paragraph I thought that Republicans were trying to set up ballet boxes in specific areas to collect these ballots with the intention for them to through it away, which would be tampering with votes, and very much illegal. But there would be no way such a big political party would attempt this and be involved with cheating as it would affect the whole party extremely and would have created a scandal.
I cannot say that I am not surprised that fake or unofficial ballot boxes are beginning to pop up such as these described in the article. However, I am confused about whether someone created these ballot boxes to collect votes and throw them away or someone did this to ensure people had a place to cast their votes. No matter what the intention is this is completely illegal and should be handled accordingly. I believe that there should be only official ballot boxes that collect these votes and these boxes should have some sort of verification in them ensuring they are official. At the end of the day, I would not be surprised if more of these "fake" ballot boxes pop up around the country.
After reading the article, I am confused and unsure about the true intentions of these unofficial ballot boxes and how this may benefit either party if the votes are being tampered with. This is a very illegal form of action and should be monitored closely. Ballot boxes should be placed in more secured locations that are both easily accessible but also appear in a form that is impossible to imitate such as monitoring who is submitting these voter forms. Whoever is organizing these "fake ballot boxes," I want to know if this is their way of protesting against not being represented (such as a third party), or is simply a joke to mess with the political system.
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