4 things to know about the California recall election
Recall concerns
Although in-person voting does not occur until Sept. 14, there have already been some concerns over the voting process. Concerns include the integrity of the mail-in ballots and voter privacy.
In August, authorities arrested a man who had 300 unopened mail-in-ballots in his possession. He was arrested for investigation of weapons, narcotics and forgery violations.
The Torrance Police Department, whose officers made the discovery, posted a statement on Facebook on Aug. 23 explaining that the 300 people designated to receive the ballots would be sent new ones and that the incident was “not tied to any additional thefts of election ballots.”
Some have also expressed concern over the holes found on ballot envelopes. Depending on how the ballot is placed in the envelope, individuals can see if someone voted for or against recalling Newsom. An Instagram video raising questions about the envelopes has received nearly 500,000 views.
The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk office took to Twitter to explain that the ballot envelope design has existed “for years.”
“The holes serve both an accessibility purpose and a quality assurance purpose after the fact to validate no voted ballots are left unprocessed; an established, recommended practice,” tweeted the office.
This has been part of the envelope design for years. The holes serve both an accessibility purpose and a quality assurance purpose after the fact to validate no voted ballots are left unprocessed; an established, recommended practice.
— Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk (@LACountyRRCC) August 20, 2021
