Spare us the hypocrisy on voter fraud

California’s elected Democrats are telling us that there is no basis for questioning the results of last week’s election, especially in LA County, where results changed dramatically over time.

Funny — the same people were adamant that the 2016 election had been stolen by Russia.

They banged on about “Russia collusion” even though there was never any evidence that any American — never mind the Trump campaign — had colluded with Putin’s autocratic regime.

Here’s what Gavin Newsom had to say:

“‘It was like Russia was running a super PAC for Trump’s campaign. . . . It worked.’” – November 25, 2016 (quoting an anonymous source in the Washington Post)

“Let’s do the math here: 1. Trump praises Russia and Putin for being a strong leader 2. Reports of Russia hacking election 3. Trump wins.” – March 1, 2017

“If there’s nothing to hide why is @GOP refusing a thorough, independent investigation into Trump-Russia ties & interference in the election?” – March 2, 2017

Here’s state Sen. Scott Wiener:

“Trump … colluded with Vladimir Putin to win the presidency.” – March 13, 2018

“Just a reminder to @realDonaldTrump in his continued tantrum about the G7: Canada & Europe are our friends & are democracies. I know Russia is *your* friend –– having stolen the election for you –– but Russia is actually a dictatorship that kills journalists & persecutes LGBT ppl.” – June 10, 2018

And let’s not even get started on Sen. Adam Schiff, whose lies about Russia collusion led to him being kicked off the House Intelligence Committee once Republicans took control.

It could be that claiming that elections are fraudulent, or stolen, is a natural reaction by the losing side, especially when it expected to win.

The difference is that there really never was any evidence to support the “Russia collusion” theory, or claims Russia hacked voting machines.

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In California’s elections, there are glaring weaknesses that make voting vulnerable to fraud.

These include the fact that the state sends ballots to every registered voter, including those who may have moved or died but remain on the rolls, meaning that there are extra ballots.

California not only does not require voter ID; it specifically bans it, under a state law signed by Newsom. California also does not require verification for mail-in ballots, aside from a signature. 

Moreover, California allows unlimited ballot harvesting, and allows ballots to be accepted and counted up to seven days after Election Day, as long as they are postmarked by Election Day. 

When it comes to ballot initiatives, state officials have considerable power to manipulate descriptions provided to voters, to twist or hide the meaning of what is really at stake.

In practice, what seems to happen in California is that political organizations and interest groups register particular voters and then make sure they vote, even delivering their ballots.

When nearly 1,200 homeless people are registered to one LA shelter with 132 beds, it is reasonable to ask what happened to those ballots.

And it is crucial that California repair its untrustworthy election system, which is now the laughingstock of the world.