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CVF-News Roundup: CD16 recount, CDA retirement, BDOG and more!

CVF-News Roundup: Tuesday, April 30, 2024

Hi Folks,

This edition of CVF-News provides news and updates on a number of important developments. And it includes a plug for this week's Big Day of Giving fundraiser, which I hope will inspire you to support our work protecting and supporting voters and elections. 

-- Kim Alexander, President & Founder
California Voter Foundation
 

‘Tortured, bureaucratic nonsense’: Congressional District 16 recount will go into a third week

Excerpt:

Mystery, sniping and challenged ballots — all swirl around the extraordinary recount in the Congressional District 16 race as it drags into its third week.

Who will emerge the victor — if anyone — between Assemblymember Evan Low and Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian who are in a dead heat for second place?

There may be no hanging chads in this ballot counting, but the much awaited outcome is still very much unknown.

New California election law: What does it do, and when will it take effect in Kern County?

Excerpt:

The 2024 election cycle is well underway, and in California, voters may be able to return their vote-by-mail ballots in person. 

In fact, voters in some counties, like Fresno and Tulare, have already participated via this new method for the March 5 Presidential Primary Election. 

Assembly Bill 626 was introduced by Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, chair of the California Assembly’s Elections Committee and former chief elections official in Santa Cruz County.

A Central Valley politician was charged with voter fraud. Right-wing conspiracies took over

Excerpt:

“We just need to have eyes on things after everything that’s been going on,” Hicks said as he rushed to his SUV to tail officials down dark farmland back roads to more drop boxes where ballots were waiting to be collected, all part of his duties as a self-appointed election observer.

With Prop. 1 race in dead heat, Gavin Newsom, opponents urge voters to fix rejected ballots

Excerpt:

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and a group opposing the Proposition 1 ballot measure are both urging voters whose ballots may have been rejected to fix their signatures in the too-close-to-call race.

Californians Against Prop. 1 on Friday began drawing attention to a Newsom effort to recruit volunteers who could contact voters whose mail-in ballots are being challenged due to signature problems.

California is still counting votes from Super Tuesday. Experts say that’s normal

Excerpt:

CLAIM: California is still counting votes more than a week after the March 5 primary, a sign the election was rigged.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. It is not unusual for California’s vote count to extend long past Election Day and there has been no indication of widespread fraud in this year’s primaries, experts told The Associated Press. Factors that contribute to this lengthy process include the large number of people who vote by mail, provisional ballots and signature verification.

Why It Takes Longer for California to Count Ballots

Excerpt:

By Tuesday night in California, the ballots will be cast, but the results for many races may remain uncertain for days, even weeks.

It is a familiar waiting game that is unique to the state, tending to prompt public scrutiny and debate when major races or hot-button issues are at stake.

But the delay is largely connected to the fact that most of the state’s 22 million registered voters cast mail ballots — and to an extensive review process that requires more than placing a ballot through a machine.

Forget election night answers: Results may take far longer in many close races

Excerpt:

Forget election night. Election season has been upon us for weeks, and it won’t be over anytime soon.

California’s prodigious adoption of vote-by-mail balloting has done more than fundamentally alter how we engage in the democratic process. The shift has also necessitated a cultural reconfiguration about election night results, and recast the timeline for learning outcomes in many races.

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