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California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday denounced plans by the Justice Department to send election monitors to California, where voting is underway in the closely watched contest over Proposition 50.<\/p>\n
The Trump administration announced Friday that it would send monitors to five counties, including Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Kern and Fresno for the Nov. 4 special election. The Justice Department said in a news release that it would send monitors to polling places and to offices of registrars of voters \u201cto ensure transparency, ballot security, and compliance with federal law.\u201d<\/p>\n
The move comes in response to a request for monitors by the California Republican Party, which claimed voting irregularities in past elections including that voters received incorrect ballots.<\/p>\n
It’s not uncommon for the federal government to monitor elections, but Bonta questioned the motives behind the decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are not normal times so it is with a great deal of concern that I see these so-called election monitors coming to California,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have to look at the broader context here.\u201d<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump has claimed there\u2019s widespread voter fraud in California, where 81% of ballots are mailed in. He reiterated his position as recently as Sunday on his Truth Social account.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cNo mail-in or \u201cEarly\u201d Voting, Yes to Voter ID! Watch how totally dishonest the California Prop Vote is! Millions of Ballots being \u201cshipped.\u201d GET SMART REPUBLICANS, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!!!\u201d<\/p>\n