President Donald Trump’s Republican Party has engaged in a standoff with California authorities, who have ordered it to withdraw “Election ballot boxes” installed without authorization in three counties of the state, refusing to comply and certifying the legality of this initiative.
A spokesperson for the party in California assured that the ballot boxes, placed last weekend in churches, armories and other private places, were nothing more than an initiative of “Collection of ballots”. This practice allows intermediaries to collect ballots and route them themselves to polling places, and is permitted in some states, including California.
“We will continue our newsletter collection programs”, launched Hector Barajas, spokesperson for the Republican Party of California, interviewed Monday by CBS television.
The local authorities, for their part, believe that these “Ballot boxes”, kinds of letterboxes, some of which bear the mention in large letters “Official”, are likely to deceive the public. They gave Republicans until Thursday to withdraw them.
The threat of criminal prosecution
The controversy arises three weeks before presidential election day, November 3, and as President Donald Trump regularly questions the reliability of the ballot, in particular postal voting, which is very common in the United States.
“Political parties and campaign teams can get involved in increasing turnout, but they cannot break state law”, reacted the Secretary of State of California, Democrat Alex Padilla. “The mailboxes in question, unofficial and unauthorized, break the law and endanger the security of the ballot papers”, he underlines in a press release, believing that “Voters must be able to cast their ballot in full transparency and confidence”.
California Attorney Xavier Becerra warned that activists behind these “Ballot boxes” exposed themselves to criminal prosecution if they refused to withdraw them. “We hope the message was clearly heard by anyone who solicits or interferes with the citizens’ vote”, he insisted, saying he received “Disturbing information” on the reluctance of Republicans to stop their initiative.
Hector Barajas did not appear to be moved by threats of prosecution, telling CBS that if the mention “Official” was going to be erased, the controversial boxes would remain in place. “Show us where the law says we should stop. Tell us where we are breaking the law. “
