I don’t think anyone is really all that surprised that voting issues are occurring in California right now during one of the most controversial recall elections the state has seen in years. Neither am I shocked that the problems seem to only be occurring among Republican or right-leaning voters. What I am a bit stunned by is the audacity and sheer boldness of voting officials and election personnel at forcing their hands.
But before I get into all that, a little background seems to be appropriate.
As you likely know, the typically very blue and left-leaning state of California is holding a recall election for their liberal Governor Gavin Newsom. Unfortunately, Like most other California elected officials and politicians, Newsom seems to only be out for himself and his party’s agenda, regardless of what it costs those living in his state.
Take his stance on COVID, for example.
Newsom implemented some of the strictest mask regulations, statewide lockdowns, and school closures the nation has ever seen. And yet, it did little good for either the health or the financial prosperity of those living in his state. Despite being closed off from the rest of the world, covered in masks, and kept from even the most things like education, California still had some of the highest infection and death rates.
And don’t even get me started on all the ways, Newsom himself didn’t follow those rules and guidelines. While the rest of the state was forced into hiding and his children went to in-person learning classes, he dined with friends at restaurants. Hell, he even went on vacation.
But even before COVID hit, he made decisions that have kept his state unsafe and headed down a path to destruction, such as deciding not to have his state’s fire prevention crews do what was required of them to keep the ever-present threat of wildfires at bay. Of course, he said he did, but records prove otherwise, all so he could spend that money elsewhere and on more “important” liberal agenda items.
Naturally, the state’s residents are tired of having their ideas shut down, and their hard-earned wasted on things that are only driving the state downhill. And so, a recall election has been called for.
But apparently, those in Newsom’s pocket or at least in his party can’t abide the thought of having him replaced with someone with more conservative ideas, which is the most likely result based on current polling.
So, of course, they are resorting to the same old tactics that got Biden into the White House in 2020.
And that apparently includes turning away Republican voters at the polls.
Now, to be clear, they aren’t saying these voters can’t cast their ballot. However, upon arrival and scanning their voter registration information, voters like Estelle Bender of West Hills, California, were informed that they had already voted.
“I went to El Camino High School to vote, got there at 10:30, gave her this and she scanned it and said, ‘You voted.’ And I said, ‘No I haven’t.’ And she said, ‘This has been happening all morning,’” according to KTLA-TV.
Bender says the man next to her seemed to have the same issue and, therefore, was turned away.
Now, just to be safe, Bender said she filled out the provisional ballot on her way out.
Another woman, at a separate location, the Disabled American Veterans 73 Vote Center in Woodland Hills, had a similar occurrence. Monica Almada told KNBC-TV that her “confidence is not the same as it used to be about the voting system.” And this instance didn’t restore her faith in the least.
But what made matters even worse is that both women, after their not-so-usual experience at the polls, have since talked to numerous neighbors, friends, and family members, many of who all reported the same issue. And all of whom just happen to also be Republican.
Now, of course, the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder has said that while some voters have been reporting this issue, all have been offered a provisional ballot, “the failsafe option to ensure no one is turned away from voting.”
And while that may be true, it does little to restore the faith in our voting system that has been so quickly lost in the last year. It certainly doesn’t seem to bode well for the state of California.
But I guess only time and the election results will tell what’s really going on…
