SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Monday that the state will send its own observers to monitor federal election monitors from the U.S. Department of Justice during next week’s special election on Proposition 50.
Bonta made the announcement during a virtual press conference with voting rights advocates on Monday, following news that the DOJ plans to send federal monitors to polling places in five counties — Fresno, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside — at the request of the California Republican Party.
“There will be observers of the election monitors — so-called election monitors that the DOJ is sending,” Bonta said. He added that it’s still being determined who exactly the state will deploy to oversee the federal monitors.
The California GOP asked for federal oversight, citing alleged issues including duplicate ballots and inconsistencies with voting deadlines.Â
Bonta, however, dismissed those claims, saying they echo unfounded conspiracy theories about election fraud.
“Look who’s saying this,” Bonta said. “It’s the Republican Party — a party that has subscribed to a conspiracy about the 2020 elections with no proof, with no evidence, with no facts, with no data to back it. Trump continues to say that he won the 2020 election. It’s insane.”
The California Republican Party has not yet responded to Bonta’s remarks.
Voters will decide on Proposition 50 in a special election scheduled for next Tuesday. The measure would temporarily redraw California’s congressional maps in favor of Democrats — a response to former President Donald Trump’s call for Republican-led states to redraw their maps to benefit the GOP.
Meanwhile, fundraising for the “Yes on Proposition 50” campaign has far outpaced the opposition.Â
Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has led the campaign, told supporters they could stop donating after reaching a $100 million fundraising goal.
By comparison, records show that the “No on Proposition 50” campaign, supported by former House Majority Leader and Bakersfield Republican Kevin McCarthy, has raised about $11 million.