Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

2 days ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

2 days ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

2 days ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

2 days ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

2 days ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

3 days ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

3 days ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

3 days ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

3 days ago
Local Election Officials Warned to Brace for Possible Disruption, Threats at Polls
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
October 8, 2020

Share

LOS ANGELES — California officials are warning local election offices to be prepared for disruption at polling places and potential cases of voters being intimidated or blocked from casting ballots.

In a memo to county election offices this week, the secretary of state’s office issued a reminder that it is a felony for any person to possess a firearm at a voting location or in the immediate vicinity, unless authorized by authorities, and it’s also illegal to threaten anyone in an attempt to discourage them from voting.

The memo from Jana M. Lean, chief of the state elections division, encouraged the local officials to contact local law enforcement or the California Highway Patrol “to ensure preparedness.”

Voting Has Begun Across California

Early voting for the Nov. 3 election started this week in California. The state has 21.2 million registered voters, about 3 million more than in 2016.

The secretary of state’s office office said the memo was not something the agency had issued to local officials in prior elections. It comes as President Donald Trump has been urging his supporters to go the polls and “watch very carefully.” A Trump adviser in battleground Wisconsin has said to expect more aggressive poll watching.

Trump lost California by over 4 million votes in 2016 and is expected to be trounced again — he is widely unpopular in the heavily Democratic state. But both parties are fighting over competitive House seats and contentious ballot proposals on worker rights, taxes and crime and punishment.

The presidential campaigns, working in concert with the Republican and Democratic parties, are aggressively recruiting volunteers around the country to keep watch over polling places. Former Vice President Joe Biden told those attending a July fundraiser that his campaign has 600 attorneys and 10,000 volunteers ready to ensure voters can cast ballots.

Local GOP Seeking Poll Watchers

In Ventura County, volunteer training is underway, said county GOP Chairman Mike Osborn. “We are deploying people mainly to make sure the ballots are handled properly,” Osborn said.

The Fresno County Republican Party has also advertised on social media for poll watchers.

Monitoring polling places is allowed in most states, but rules vary.

Under California law, it’s a felony if any person “makes use of or threatens to make use of any force, violence, or tactic of coercion or intimidation” to discourage any person from voting, or forcing them to do so. It is legal for citizens to observe in-person voting, but state law prohibits any intimidation or security guards being stationed at polling locations.

Secretary of State Alex Padilla, a Democrat, said he expected a safe election but the state’s 58 counties need to be ready for potential trouble, including any efforts to threaten or harass voters, or challenge someone’s right to vote.

Voter intimidation can include threats of physical harm, or brandishing weapons. His office will have poll monitors throughout the state, which is routine in elections.

Voters “should be assured that we are in close contact with elections officials across the state, and will address any issues,” Padilla said.

If a dispute or disruption breaks out, the memo suggests that “most incidents can be effectively diffused … with a calm demeanor and approach that advises persons that they are engaged in prohibited activity that violates state law.”

‘The Bottom Line for Me Is Getting the Word Out to Voters That We’re Not Going to Tolerate It’

The memo noted that many county election offices already have contacted local law enforcement to provide them with locations for polling and ballot drop boxes “in the event there is a situation where law enforcement is needed.”

In Orange County, where Republicans are seeking to win back four House seats lost in 2018, Registrar Neal Kelley said he had not seen any indication of a greater level of threat this year compared to other elections but “we’re just not sitting back saying it’s not going to happen. … We’re planning.”

Investigators from the county district attorney’s office will be available on Election Day, if needed. In past elections, Kelley said there have been examples of voters being blocked from polling places, or attempting to intimidate voters.

With an extensive radio system in place, “we can respond … within seven minutes, roughly, to any vote center anywhere in the county,” he said.

The office also coordinates with the FBI and other federal agencies, which watch for unusual online activity that could suggest a problem.

As for potential intimidation, “the bottom line for me is getting the word out to voters that we’re not going to tolerate it,” Kelley said.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

DON'T MISS

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

DON'T MISS

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

DON'T MISS

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

DON'T MISS

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

DON'T MISS

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

DON'T MISS

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

DON'T MISS

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

DON'T MISS

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

UP NEXT

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

UP NEXT

Fresno Police to Conduct DUI Checkpoint on Fourth of July, Boost Holiday Patrols

UP NEXT

Fresno Crash Involving Unlicensed Teen Driver Sends Woman to Hospital

UP NEXT

Madre Fire Burns More Than 52,000 Acres in San Luis Obispo County

UP NEXT

RIP John Harris: Fresno County Rancher, Racehorse Breeder Was a Visionary Leader Who Leaves a ‘Profound Legacy’

UP NEXT

Valadao, Costa Spar on What Passage of Trump’s Bill Means for Medicaid Recipients

UP NEXT

Kaweah Health Names Its New Chief Nurse. She’s From Texas

UP NEXT

Clovis Police Say At-Risk Missing Woman Found Dead in Mariposa County

UP NEXT

Fresno Police Recover Some of the $40,000 in Fireworks Stolen From Bullard High Team

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

1 day ago

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

1 day ago

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

2 days ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

2 days ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

2 days ago

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

2 days ago

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

2 days ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

2 days ago

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

2 days ago

Boxer Chavez Jr Expected to Be Deported to Mexico to Serve Sentence, Mexican President Says

2 days ago

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

Can you hear it — that loud roar coming from the East? It’s the sound of 1.4 billion Chinese laughing at us. Thomas L. Friedman The New Yo...

15 hours ago

Solar Farm in Riesel, Texas
15 hours ago

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

Caitlin Clark Signs T-Shirt
15 hours ago

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
1 day ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

The Madre Fire burning near New Cuyama has scorched 70,801 acres as of Friday, July 4, 2025, afternoon, making it California’s largest wildfire of the year, with only 10% containment and multiple evacuation zones in place. (CalFire)
1 day ago

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

1 day ago

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

A pumpjack operates at the Vermilion Energy site in Trigueres, France, June 14, 2024. (Reuters File)
2 days ago

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

Palestinians gather to collect what remains of relief supplies from the distribution center of the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 5, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 days ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

Billy Wayne Sinisgalli, a 54-year-old transient known locally as Wayne, was found dead along a rural Fresno road Wednesday in what authorities are investigating as a suspicious death. (Fresno County SO)
2 days ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend