The Republican National Committee (RNC) is filing a nationwide lawsuit to prevent several states from counting mail-in ballots after Election Day after California took nearly a month to certify some races. announced that it had happened.
“It is unreasonable for California to accept mail-in ballots until seven days after Election Day and then take almost a month to count,” RNC Chairman Michael Whatley wrote on X. .
Whatley said the RNC, along with the California Republican Party, “will continue to aggressively fight to force all states to stop accepting ballots after Election Day.”
He added that Republicans on the ground in California are working with lawyers and observers “throughout the voting, treatment and counting process.” The RNC also launched a new statewide ballot repair operation in partnership with the National Republican Congressional Committee and Elon Musk's PAC.
“RNC, NRCC, and CAGOP election integrity efforts began locally in California before and on Election Day and have been active since November 5th. Our attorneys and trained volunteers , are in place to ensure transparency throughout the election process,” Whatley Senior Counsel Gates McGavik told Fox News Digital in a statement.
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Voters cast their ballots during the Super Tuesday primary election at the American Legion Post polling place in Hawthorne, California, on March 5, 2024. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)
California's vote-counting process has been prolonged due to the large number of mail-in ballots, as the majority of Californians choose to vote by mail. In the state's 2022 election, nearly 90% of votes were cast by mail.
State law also allows mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if they arrive within up to a week. Mail-in ballots typically go through a verification process, which can take longer to count. The deadline for election certification is December 16th.
As of Wednesday, several races in the Golden State remain undecided, including the battleground 13th District between Republican U.S. Rep. John Duarte and Democratic challenger Adam Gray.
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July 17, 2022 at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, California. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
“Every vote counts in every state, and the RNC will work with state parties and candidates to ensure election integrity across the country,” Whatley said. “It's clear that real election reform is needed to protect California's votes.”
Liberal Gov. Gavin Newsom signed several laws during his term to expand voting by mail. In 2021, Newsom signs AB 37, making California one of the first states to require all active registered voters to automatically receive an absentee ballot, a new model briefly passed in 2020. Codified emergency measures in the era of coronavirus infection. Two laws were signed into law in 2023: AB 626 and AB. 545, requiring a curbside voting option at all polling places and allowing voters to drop off and pick up mail-in ballots at polling places for immediate counting.
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California Governor Gavin Newsom greets people near the Common Man Roadside Market and Deli on Monday, July 8, 2024 in Hooksett, New Hampshire. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
California is one of 14 states that does not require voters to present their voter ID at the polls. In March 2024, officials in Huntington Beach, a conservative hotspot on the southern coastline, passed a local bill requiring voter ID to vote in elections; They quickly passed state laws prohibiting enforcement of the requested laws. .
“The right to vote freely is a cornerstone of our democracy, and Huntington Beach's voter ID policy violates this principle,” state Attorney General Bob Bonta said in a statement at the time.
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Republican criticism of extended vote-counting periods has intensified this election cycle in states such as Pennsylvania and North Carolina. Before Sen. Bob Casey conceded his Pennsylvania Senate seat to Republican challenger Dave McCormick last week, the state and the state Republican Party announced that counties should count mail-in ballots that voters did not date. He went to court claiming that he was not. Either he sent the wrong return envelope or wrote the wrong envelope, the Associated Press reported.
President-elect Donald Trump also took note of California's voter ID law, writing on his Truth Social account that elections will require proof of citizenship and voter ID. Meanwhile, Newsom is preparing the state to “stand up to President Trump,” calling an emergency special session of Congress on Dec. 2.
Newsom: “California is ready to fight'' I wrote to X After the election. “Whether it's basic civil rights, reproductive freedom or climate action, we refuse to turn back the clock and allow our values and laws to be attacked. I will.”
