California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Friday signed an executive order permitting all registered voters in the Golden State to vote by mail in the upcoming presidential election, citing concerns stemming from the Chinese coronavirus pandemic.
“I signed an executive order that will allow every registered voter in California to receive a mail-in ballot,” Newsom said. “That mail-in ballot is important but it’s not an exclusive substitute to physical locations.”
“People that are otherwise not familiar with mail-in ballots, are uncomfortable with them, may have disabilities, may have other issues that may preclude that as an appropriate option, we still want to have the appropriate number of physical sites for people to vote as well,” the governor added.
Watch: Stephen A. Smith Gushes About ‘Positively Brilliant’ Trump Who Keeps Foiling Democrats at Every Turn
Breaking: Trump Wins FIFA Peace Prize, Calls it ‘One of the Great Honors of My Life’
SCOTUS to review Trump executive order on birthright citizenship
Judge on the clock as NY AG Letitia James challenges US attorney’s authority to investigate her lawsuits
Vance acknowledges voters ‘impatient’ on affordability, rejects ‘totally bulls— narrative’
Jan 6 defendant pardoned by Trump lands in legal trouble again
Watch: Stephen A. Smith Locks Horns With Whoopi as He Schools the Women of ‘The View’ on Why Democrats Are Losing
Nearly Half of LGBT TV Characters to Vanish Next Year as Show Cancellations Pile Up
911 call for Luigi Mangione’s arrest in McDonald’s released: ‘He looks like the CEO shooter’
ICE operation in Minneapolis nabs a dozen ‘worst of the worst’ criminal illegal aliens, including Somalis
Trump national security blueprint declares ‘era of mass migration is over,’ targets China’s rise
Priceless Video: CNN’s Jake Tapper Calls Jan 6 Pipe Bomb Suspect ‘White Man’ on Live TV – Does He Look White to You?
The Plot Thickens: DC Pipe Bomb Suspect’s George Floyd Connection Has Been Uncovered
Mandela Barnes jumps into Wisconsin governor race — but baggage from his 2022 Senate bid follows
Trump administration balances US support for Saudi Arabia and Israel
WATCH: Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order to allow all registered voters in California the ability to vote by mail for the November election.
An "appropriate" number of physical locations to vote at will still be available. https://t.co/LV2wPAd58o pic.twitter.com/QGmFVd8kdD
— NBC 7 San Diego (@nbcsandiego) May 8, 2020
Newsom said while offering voters the chance to vote by mail, he is committed to providing the ability to vote at a physical location on election day.
“There’s a lot of concern and excitement around this November’s election in terms of making sure that you can conduct yourself in a safe way and to make sure your health is protected and to make sure we are reaching out to all registered, eligible voters,” the governor stated. “And giving them the opportunity, giving them the choice not to feel like they have to go into a concentrated, dense environment where their health may be at risk but provide an additional asset and additional resources by way of voting by mail.”
In a statement to CNN, Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh slammed the move by Newsom, calling it a “thinly-veiled political tactic” to “undermine” election security.
JUST IN: the @realDonaldTrump campaign has responded to this news out of California.. Spox @TimMurtaugh tells @CNN said this move will “undermine election security”.
Full statement:
via @DJJudd https://t.co/jSHczb9fei pic.twitter.com/fk3HHjQhSS— Ryan Nobles (@ryanobles) May 8, 2020
Newsom’s order comes as Democrats across the country are pushing efforts to allow voters to vote-by-mail in the 2020 election, despite concerns of potential voter fraud. On Wednesday, Reps. Joe Kennedy III (D-MA) and Mark Pocan (D-WI) went as far as to call for vote-by-mail to be permitted beyond the election.
Watch: Stephen A. Smith Gushes About ‘Positively Brilliant’ Trump Who Keeps Foiling Democrats at Every Turn
Breaking: Trump Wins FIFA Peace Prize, Calls it ‘One of the Great Honors of My Life’
SCOTUS to review Trump executive order on birthright citizenship
Judge on the clock as NY AG Letitia James challenges US attorney’s authority to investigate her lawsuits
Vance acknowledges voters ‘impatient’ on affordability, rejects ‘totally bulls— narrative’
Jan 6 defendant pardoned by Trump lands in legal trouble again
Watch: Stephen A. Smith Locks Horns With Whoopi as He Schools the Women of ‘The View’ on Why Democrats Are Losing
Nearly Half of LGBT TV Characters to Vanish Next Year as Show Cancellations Pile Up
911 call for Luigi Mangione’s arrest in McDonald’s released: ‘He looks like the CEO shooter’
ICE operation in Minneapolis nabs a dozen ‘worst of the worst’ criminal illegal aliens, including Somalis
Trump national security blueprint declares ‘era of mass migration is over,’ targets China’s rise
Priceless Video: CNN’s Jake Tapper Calls Jan 6 Pipe Bomb Suspect ‘White Man’ on Live TV – Does He Look White to You?
The Plot Thickens: DC Pipe Bomb Suspect’s George Floyd Connection Has Been Uncovered
Mandela Barnes jumps into Wisconsin governor race — but baggage from his 2022 Senate bid follows
Trump administration balances US support for Saudi Arabia and Israel
“If we don’t act fast, we will jeopardize participation in what may be the most important election of our lifetime. People will stay home. Disproportionately, those people will be of color, who live in neighborhoods most likely to lose polling locations,” the Democrat lawmakers wrote in an op-ed for The Hill. “They’ll be students, single parents, and low-wage workers, who can’t put their lives on hold to go vote. They’ll be seniors and medically-vulnerable patients, who would be literally risking their lives just to cast their ballots. So a privileged few will get to decide our country’s trajectory while the people most impacted by this crisis are forced to forfeit their voice.”
Recent data has not shown a compelling public health justification for vote-by-mail. Wisconsin is one of the only U.S. states that held its primary election with in-person voting after the coronavirus lockdown began. Only a few dozen people at maximum were confirmed to have contracted the virus after participating either as voters or poll workers, and none of those cases were fatal. Out of the 413,000 participants, that equals an infection rate below two-hundredths of one percent. Just days later, South Korea held national elections which did not result in any new coronavirus cases.
Story cited here.
