California Election Officials Address Ballot Conspiracy Theories
California Secretary of State Shirley Weber issued a statement Monday addressing circulating conspiracy theories regarding the design of mail-in ballots for the upcoming November special election.The claims allege that ballots are intentionally designed to reveal how voters cast their ballots on Proposition 50, a measure concerning the redrawing of california’s congressional districts.
Weber clarified that voters can maintain ballot secrecy by inserting their ballots into the return envelopes in a way that conceals their vote, or by utilizing early voting stations or voting in person on November 4th. She emphasized that the holes in the envelopes are a long-standing feature intended to assist visually impaired voters and allow election workers to verify ballots have been removed.
The controversy was ignited by a post on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) by libs of TikTok, which garnered 4.8 million views, claiming a “NO” vote on the redistricting plan would be visible through the envelope’s hole. This post was subsequently retweeted by Texas Senator Ted Cruz, reaching over 840,000 views. Republican California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton also called for the election to be suspended due to the alleged irregularities.
This is not the first time such allegations have surfaced during California elections. The holes in the envelopes have been a standard feature for years, designed to aid accessibility.
The special election was initiated by Governor Gavin Newsom and other Democrats in response to former President Trump’s calls for GOP-led states, including Texas, to redraw their congressional districts to benefit the Republican party ahead of the 2024 elections. California Democrats proposed a mid-decade redrawing of the state’s 52 congressional boundaries to potentially increase Democratic representation in Congress. Typically,congressional districts are redrawn every ten years by an independent state commission established by voters in 2010.
As of Monday evening, nearly 600,000 Californians had already returned their mail-in ballots, according to data from Political Data, a voter data firm led by Democratic strategist Paul Mitchell, who was involved in drafting the proposed congressional boundaries on the ballot.
Republican leaders in California have expressed concern that the conspiracy theories could discourage voters from opposing Proposition 50. Roxanne Hoge,chair of the Los Angeles County Republican Party,urged voters not to be alarmed and to simply turn their ballots over within the envelope. Jessica Millan Patterson, leading a committee opposing Proposition 50, stressed the importance of voting despite concerns about the envelope design, stating that abstaining from voting would be detrimental to those unhappy with the current state of affairs in California.
