President Donald Trump is urging California residents not to vote early or use mail-in ballots in the Nov. 4 election on Proposition 50, a statewide redistricting effort that could have national consequences over which party controls the U.S. House.
His comments contradict the message state Republican leaders have been sending.
Trump, returning to the favorite topic of his that the 2020 election was stolen from him, alleged that California’s redistricting battle this year, as well as the midterm elections next year, are ripe to be “rigged.”
“No mail-in or ‘Early’ Voting, Yes to Voter ID! Watch how totally dishonest the California Prop Vote is! Millions of Ballots being ‘shipped,’” Trump posted on Truth Social. “GET SMART REPUBLICANS, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!!!”
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), whose political future could be riding on the passage of Proposition 50, mocked Trump’s post, calling it the “ramblings of an old man that knows he’s going to LOSE.”
Trump has long claimed mail-in voting is a “disaster” and “out of control,” suggesting without offering proof that it opens the door for Democrats to steal the election. He has also called mail-in ballots “a whole big scam.”
Trump’s message seems to be the opposite of what state Republicans are pitching. Republicans have encouraged their supporters to vote early, knowing that Democrats’ success in encouraging early voting has helped them bank votes ahead of Election Day.
The San Diego GOP stressed voter turnout in its X post.
“It’s simple. Republicans need to stop complaining and vote. We ask and ask and ask and yet turnout still lags,” the San Diego GOP posted on X. “To win this one GOP turnout needs to be materially better than average. It’s very doable but won’t just happen. Work it.”
Jessica Millan Patterson, a former chairwoman of the state GOP and currently the leader of the “No on Prop 50 – Stop Sacramento’s Power Grab” committee, has routinely pushed for Republicans to vote early.
“Sacramento politicians rushed this costly election for partisan gain, and mistakes have been made,” she told the Los Angeles Times Sunday night. “If Californians want change from our state’s failed one-party rule, it starts by turning out to vote no on Proposition 50.”
The Justice Department announced on Friday it would monitor polling sites in six California and New Jersey counties ahead of the Nov. 4 elections. The DOJ said the move to focus on two Democrat-led states will “ensure transparency, ballot security, and compliance with federal law.”
“Transparency at the polls translates into faith in the electoral process, and this Department of Justice is committed to upholding the highest standards of election integrity,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement.
While the practice of sending federal election monitors into local jurisdictions isn’t new, it comes at a time when Trump has tried to assert more federal authority over elections in the lead-up to next year’s midterm elections, which could shift control of the House to Democrats.
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The Trump administration has also pushed to obtain personal information on millions of voters across America.
State election officials said they have received letters from Harmeet Dhillon, who oversees the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, asking for unredacted copies of voter registration databases that include names, addresses, driver’s license numbers, and the last four digits of a voter’s Social Security number. The DOJ claims this is necessary to make sure states are maintaining accurate voter registration rolls in compliance with federal law.
