Written by Nicholas Vetrisek
Governor Gavin Newsom announced recently that California will allow every vote to use mail-in voting for November. The decision was made to protect against COVID-19 transmission risks through long lines of voters and large crowds.
CA is now a vote by mail state.
Every registered voter will receive a mail-in ballot for the Nov election.
We’ll also provide safe in-person voting options.
The right to vote is foundational to our democracy. No one should be forced to risk their health to exercise that right.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) May 8, 2020
Though the decision was in response to what happened in Wisconsin’s primary where many voters were fearful about contracting the virus, the blatant disregard Governor Newsom showed for the State Legislature by declaring an executive order is indefensible and, as a result, he is experiencing severe backlash.
“While we have always supported absentee voting, California is a case study in why automatically sending this many ballots is a problem,” said RNC spokesperson Steve Guest. He also noted that Los Angeles struck an agreement to purge up to 1.5 million inactive voters from the rolls.
In addition, Assemblyman Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) expressed his disdain for Newsom’s unilateral decision.
Gov. Newsom boasts California is the "first state" to make this change. Perhaps that's because other states are still functioning democracies, where new laws need to pass a Legislature.
https://t.co/jOz3UL2nkW— Kevin Kiley (@KevinKileyCA) May 8, 2020
Republican lawmakers see Newsom’s sidestepping of the legislature as a clear affront to democracy because he is using the coronavirus as an excuse to push his political agenda. A spokesman for President Trump, Tim Murtaugh, called the governor’s actions “a thinly-veiled political tactic” that would “undermine election security” and invite fraud. An RNC spokesman also said that the campaign organization was “weighing our legal options to ensure the integrity of the election.”
Regardless of the intention, this is a matter that should have been decided by the state legislature, not by the governor. To do otherwise violates the namesake of the governor’s own party, along with the checks and balances of the state.
