Becerra Seeks Court Order To Compel The California Republican Party To Comply
On Tuesday, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed a petition in the Sacramento Superior Court requesting that the court order the California Republican Party to comply with outstanding investigative interrogatories.
Becerra and California Secretary of State Alex Padilla were Thursday’s KMVL “Newsmakers of the Day”.
The state’s petition follows the California Republican Party’s refusal to comply with lawful demands for information regarding the deployment of unauthorized ballot drop boxes and individuals who may have used them from September 1, 2020 through October 16, 2020.
“Here in California, we’re doing everything in our power to protect the integrity of our elections,” said Becerra. “As part of that and pursuant to our statutory authority, we issued subpoenas and interrogatories to determine the extent to which the deployment of unauthorized ballot drop boxes may have impacted Californians. Our work to ensure that all voters have confidence that their vote will count moves forward. To the extent that unauthorized ballot drop boxes are redeployed, our investigation is ongoing and we will act where necessary. We ask all Californians: if you see something, say something. It’s going to take all of us working together to stand up for our right to vote and ensure a free and fair election.”
Following complaints and reports of unauthorized ballot drop boxes across California, Becerra and Padilla issued a letter on October 12, 2020 ordering the California Republican Party to cease and desist the coordination, use, and false or misleading promotion of unauthorized and non-official vote-by-mail drop boxes. The letter also sought information regarding the location and number of unauthorized drop boxes deployed, as well as details regarding individuals who used them. Subsequently, legal counsel for the California Republican Party communicated that it had taken steps to demonstrate compliance with the cease and desist letter. However, the Attorney General’s investigation remained ongoing and, as part of that process, multiple subpoenas and investigative interrogatories were issued on Friday, October 16, 2020 to require the provision of outstanding information as requested in the cease and desist letter. Tuesday’s petition follows the California Republican Party’s failure to comply with the lawfully issued investigative interrogatories.
