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.
Secret Service officers shoot armed individual near White House
Palisades Fire suspect was allegedly ‘fixated’ on Luigi Mangione and held ‘resentment of the rich’: court docs
Becerra and Hilton tied as California governor race tightens: Poll
Pennsylvania Democrats rebuke ‘traitor’ Fetterman as party threatens primary challenge
Jeffries launches New York gerrymander push after redistricting clash with DeSantis
Trump Says Iran Will Be ‘Blown Off the Face of the Earth’ if They Fire on US Boats in Strait of Hormuz
Disgraced Dem cut off from doing business with government after alleged ‘outright fraud’ uncovered
Three Dead, Others Sickened in Outbreak of Rare Disease Aboard Cruise Ship
Ceasefire threatened as Iran launches waves of missiles and drones at UAE
Judge rants that Jan. 6 inmates were treated better than alleged WHCA dinner gunman
Convicted Somali scammer to avoid jail time in Minnesota’s largest-ever Medicaid fraud case
House minority leader mocks Trump with ‘Jeffries Derangement Syndrome’ jab
Schumer, Dems launch ‘free and fair’ elections task force as Trump’s SAVE America Act stumbles
FBI arrests leftist Senate hopeful for alleged death threats against Trump, Congress member and daughter
Iran Responds to Trump’s New Strait of Hormuz Plan with Aggressive Threat
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.
Secret Service officers shoot armed individual near White House
Palisades Fire suspect was allegedly ‘fixated’ on Luigi Mangione and held ‘resentment of the rich’: court docs
Becerra and Hilton tied as California governor race tightens: Poll
Pennsylvania Democrats rebuke ‘traitor’ Fetterman as party threatens primary challenge
Jeffries launches New York gerrymander push after redistricting clash with DeSantis
Trump Says Iran Will Be ‘Blown Off the Face of the Earth’ if They Fire on US Boats in Strait of Hormuz
Disgraced Dem cut off from doing business with government after alleged ‘outright fraud’ uncovered
Three Dead, Others Sickened in Outbreak of Rare Disease Aboard Cruise Ship
Ceasefire threatened as Iran launches waves of missiles and drones at UAE
Judge rants that Jan. 6 inmates were treated better than alleged WHCA dinner gunman
Convicted Somali scammer to avoid jail time in Minnesota’s largest-ever Medicaid fraud case
House minority leader mocks Trump with ‘Jeffries Derangement Syndrome’ jab
Schumer, Dems launch ‘free and fair’ elections task force as Trump’s SAVE America Act stumbles
FBI arrests leftist Senate hopeful for alleged death threats against Trump, Congress member and daughter
Iran Responds to Trump’s New Strait of Hormuz Plan with Aggressive Threat
“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.
