Opinion: California’s dangerous vote-by-mail experiment

By Tony Perkins | The Daily Signal

Gov. Gavin Newsom just ordered a vote-by-mail system through November — a decision that’s scaring the daylights out of anyone who cares about ballot integrity.

For all the talk of other countries meddling in our elections, they know as well as we do — the biggest threats are right here at home.

“I signed an executive order,” Newsom said, “that will allow every registered voter in California to receive a mail-in ballot.” Even, it turns out, if that voter isn’t alive to cast it.

Shortly after the governor announced his decision, the California Globe pointed out that 458,000 residents who died or moved are still on the “active” rolls — meaning that a half-million ballots will be floating out there for the taking. Another 24,000 people, Election Integrity Project California warns, will get two or more.

Public domain

“First, the ballot is cast outside the public eye, and thus the opportunities for coercion and voter impersonation are greater. Second, the transmission path for vote-by-mail ballots is not as secure as traditional in-person ballots. These concerns relate both to ballots being intercepted and ballots being requested without the voter’s permission.”

It’s a recipe, watchdogs say, for disaster.

“We simply cannot go all vote-by-mail in November unless and until California’s voter lists are finally cleared of duplicated, deceased, relocated, and other ineligible registrants,” Ellen Swensen of Election Integrity Project California argues. She’s right.

Think about how competitive some of the state races were in 2018. According to Ballotpedia, 88% of them were decided by a margin of 0.5 percentage or less. Even a smidgeon of fraud could upend an entire race. But we’re not talking about a smidgeon of fraud—we’re talking about institutionalizing it across the biggest state in America.

Here’s the problem with this whole mail-in idea, MIT’s Election Lab explains. “First, the ballot is cast outside the public eye, and thus the opportunities for coercion and voter impersonation are greater. Second, the transmission path for vote-by-mail ballots is not as secure as traditional in-person ballots. These concerns relate both to ballots being intercepted and ballots being requested without the voter’s permission.”

Put simply: There’s no oversight. There’s no way to guarantee that a ballot even gets to its destination — let alone counted once it’s there. “Once that ballot is out of the hands of the elector,” one official shook his head, “we have no idea what happens to it. The possibilities are numerous and scary.”

Combine that with the fact that California hasn’t cleaned up its voting records in 20 years, and the opportunities for cheating are everywhere.

Los Angeles County alone, John Fund explains, has a voter registration rate of 112% of its adult citizen population. One of the few legitimate voters in that county, a Democrat, told the Los Angeles Daily News that the amount of pressure one door-to-door canvasser put on him “sent chills down [his] spine.”

Imagine the level of harassment and intimidation that will take place when everyone’s voting from home. If activists will come to a Democrat’s house and scare him, no one is safe.

A change of this magnitude shouldn’t come by governor fiat either. This is a massive overhaul of the democratic process that Newsom is changing with a wave of his pen.

“Gov. Newsom boasts California is the “first state” to make this change,” Republican Assemblyman Kevin Kiley tweeted. “Perhaps that’s because other states are still functioning democracies, where new laws need to pass a legislature.”

Not to mention, there’s no guarantee that state officials have enough time to implement a ballot-by-mail system by November — or test it to work out the kinks.

As MIT’s Charles Stewart points out, the only thing worse than a universal mail-in system is one that leaders fast-track. “Hastily implemented changes to voting rules and laws can end up causing all types of problems that you didn’t anticipate.”

And by November, who’s to say there’s even a public health excuse for such a decision? If we can figure out a way to get to the grocery store, surely we can figure out a way to exercise our most basic civic duty.

Democrats know that mail-in ballots are a “recipe for confusion, coercion, and fraud,” Fund says. That’s why they want them sent to every voter. But this isn’t just about 2020. It’s about 2022, 2024, and every election that comes after.

Democrats, Republicans, independents — we all have a stake in making the democratic system an honest one.

Originally published in Tony Perkins’ Washington Update.

Image courtesy of Public domain

2 thoughts on “Opinion: California’s dangerous vote-by-mail experiment

  1. Caliphonya and mail-in is a double disaster.

    Dem/Progs never let a good crisis go to waste.
    They want the virus-scare to last to November ELECTION DAY.
    Play it to the hill, with the hand-maiden Media helping out.
    Get rid of Trump
    Get rid of Scott.
    Get rid of anybody standing in the way of more socialism, more state control and more state power

    Mail-in voting is part of the Dem/Prog national platform, says Pelosi from Caliphonya.
    http://www.truenorthreports.com/opinion-californias-dangerous-vote-by-mail-experiment

    Condos has been traveling all over the state, making scare-mongering speeches, and agitating for mail-in ballots;
    “We have got to do this, and that, and do it NOW.”

    Holcombe, Zuckerman, VPIRG, and assorted Dem/Progs, chiming in for mail-in as well.
    In fact, not a single Dem/Prog legislator dares state an opposite view, for fear of being ostracized by the party elite.
    All HAVE to chime in, to make it appear there is an unstoppable ground-swell for mail-in, and later, more socialism

    Dem/Progs, profess to be oh-so concerned about your health and safety.
    Hidden agenda: They are even more concerned to get more votes for more veto power and control
    Condos has had a free rein NOT to use common sense.

    Here is some real-world common sense:

    If Vermonters have been going to grocery stores ALL OVER THE STATE (even in Burlington), in MARCH, APRIL and MAY, they can physically show up to IDENTIFY THEMSELVES WITH A PHOTO ID, and then vote in NOVEMBER.
    No fraudulent PROXY voting!!

    NOTE: South Korea and Wisconsin recently held their elections by means of in-person voting WITHOUT AN UPTICK IN VIRUS CASE COUNT
    Vermont could do the same in November, MORE THAN FIVE MONTHS IN THE FUTURE.

    It is a complete fabrication to insist on mail-in voting.
    By November there will be absolutely no reason for it.
    Those who are scare-mongering now, will look silly in November, when the voting and everything else will take place as usual.

    That TRADITIONAL approach would lead to MINIMUM FRAUD AND MAXIMUM TRUST.
    If China could build TWO 1000-bed hospitals in 2 weeks, Condos should have plenty of time to set up infrastructures and print ballots for a PARTIAL MAIL-IN vote in NOVEMBER, IF NECESSARY.

    If the virus episode has not subsided by November, FREE MASKS SHOULD BE AVAILABLE AT THE POLLING STATIONS.

    Only authorized/official people should hand them out.

    Condos should stop the fake handwringing and prevaricating and the scare-mongering.
    There is no way Vermonters would agree to his indiscriminate mass-mailing of ballots to every Tom, Dick, and Harry.
    Some may have died, some moved to another state, some may be in jail and not eligible to vote, some may be illegal and/or undocumented.
    There is no way for the Town Clerk to know, without people showing up with proper PHOTO ID, citizen papers, etc.

    NOTE: Famous Jack Nicholson line. ‘Go sell crazy somewhere else. We’re all stocked up here.’”

    Vermonters do not give a hoot that mail-in voting is practiced in some other states, such as Caliphonya
    Those states likely are less SOCIALISTIC than Vermont, and people have less reason to fear/mistrust their government
    Vermonters LOVE to go to their familiar voting booths.

  2. Suggest you save some time an read Tony’s last paragraph. He sums up the reason for the mail-in ballot stratgey by the liberal left in about 40 words which hits the proverbial nail smack on the head!!!! The exact same words apply to the very shinanigan going on in Montpelier with the Lib/Prog/Dem move to strip Gov. Scott of his authority to determine the method of voting.

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