SACRAMENTO — Atty. Normal Rob Bonta mentioned Monday that he anticipates the Trump administration, which final week introduced plans to make use of federal election screens in California, will use false studies of voting irregularities to problem the outcomes of the Nov. 4 particular election.
Bonta, California’s high regulation enforcement officer, mentioned on a name with reporters that he’s “100%” involved about false accusations of wrongdoing on the polling locations.
Bonta mentioned it could be “naive” to imagine Trump would settle for the outcomes of the Nov. 4 election given his historical past of mendacity about election outcomes, together with his loss to President Biden in 2020.
The legal professional normal additionally warned that Trump’s ways could also be a preview of what the nation may see within the 2026 election, when management of the U.S. Home of Representatives — and the destiny of Trump’s controversial political agenda — will likely be at stake.
“All indications, all arrows, present that this can be a tee-up for one thing extra harmful within the 2026, midterms and perhaps past,” Bonta mentioned.
The U.S. Division of Justice final week introduced it could ship election screens to 5 California counties the place voters are casting ballots within the Proposition 50 election to determine whether or not to redraw state’s congressional boundaries.
Federal election screens will go to websites throughout Southern California and within the Central Valley, in Fresno, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties, the Justice Division mentioned final week.
Gov. Gavin Newsom known as the transfer an “intimidation tactic” geared toward suppressing assist for Proposition 50 and inappropriate federal interference in a state election.
Whereas federal monitoring is routine, notably in federal elections, it not too long ago has been considered with heightened skepticism from each events. When the Justice Division below President Biden introduced monitoring in 86 jurisdictions throughout 27 states throughout final November’s presidential election, some Republican-led states balked and sought to dam the trouble.
Democrats have been extremely suspect of the Trump administration’s plans for monitoring elections, partially due to Trump’s relentless denial of previous election losses — together with his personal to Biden in 2020 — and his appointment of fellow election deniers to high-ranking positions in his administration, together with within the Justice Division.
The California Republican Social gathering requested the election screens and cited a number of considerations about voting patterns and points in a number of counties, in line with a letter it despatched to the Dept. of Justice.
Bonta, in his remarks Monday questioned the GOP claims, and denied the existence of any widespread fraud that will require federal election screens. He in contrast the screens to Trump’s determination to dispatch the Nationwide Guard to Democratic-led cities, regardless of an outcry from native politicians who mentioned the troops weren’t essential.
Extra broadly, Bonta instructed reporters that the Trump administration seems to be able to battle the Nov. 4 outcomes if Prop. 50 passes.
“Individuals vote and also you settle for the desire of the voters — that’s what democracy is. However that’s not what they’re teeing themselves as much as do based mostly on every part that we’ve seen, every part that’s been mentioned,” mentioned Bonta, describing Trump’s current name on social media for Republicans to “get up.”
Bonta additionally mentioned that the state would dispatch observers — probably from his workplace, the secretary of state and county registrars — to observe the federal screens at polling locations.
Early voting has already began in California, with voters deciding whether or not to briefly reconfigure the state’s congressional district boundaries. The Democratic-led California Legislature positioned the measure on the Nov. 4 poll in an effort to extend their occasion’s numbers within the U.S. Home of Representatives .
Gov. Gavin Newsom and different backers of the measure have mentioned they often assist impartial redistricting processes and can push for nonpartisan commissions nationwide, however argued that Democrats should battle again in opposition to Trump’s present efforts to have Republican states reconfigure their congressional districts to make sure the GOP retains management of Congress after the 2026 election.
Natalie Baldassarre, a spokesperson for the U.S. Dept. of Justice, declined to touch upon Bonta’s remarks. Baldassarre additionally declined to say what number of election screens would work in California.
Federal election screens observe polling locations to make sure compliance with the federal voting rights legal guidelines, and are educated to look at and act as “flies on the wall,” mentioned David Becker, government director of the nonpartisan and nonprofit Heart for Election Innovation and Analysis, in an interview final week.
“Typically, what you do is stroll inside, keep off to the aspect, nicely away from the place any voters are, and take some notes,” mentioned Becker, an legal professional who previously labored within the Justice Division’s Civil Rights Division.
