California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra on Tuesday sought a court order to force state Republican officials to turn over information about the party’s use of private drop boxes for collecting ballots in a handful of counties across the state.
Leaders of the California Republican Party have insisted the program has followed all applicable rules and regulations and accuse both Becerra and Secretary of State Alex Padilla of a partisan investigation.
Last week, Republicans and the two Democratic state officials criticized each other in a series of dueling public statements over the GOP‘s distribution of metal containers to party offices, churches and private businesses where voters were invited to deposit their completed ballots.
California election law allows voters to “designate a person” to collect and return a ballot, but it only mentions drop boxes operated by county elections officials. Social media postings earlier this month showed some receptacles with the label “official drop box,” prompting state elections officials to send a cease and desist letter to Republicans demanding the removal of the signs.
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