DeMaio demands Secretary of State follow Supreme Court ruling

Assemblymember Carl DeMaio today sent a letter to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber, demanding that she bring her office into compliance with the Supreme Court ruling on the counting of mail ballots after Election Day.

DeMaio said Weber wants to force county election officials to count ballots received after Election Day without postmarks.

Specifically, Weber has issued a regulation forcing county election officials to allow mail-in ballots to be counted up to seven days after Election Day with NO postmark, NO carrier date stamp, and NO Postal Service record of when they were mailed. Only requiring that the voter dates their ballot for Election Day, or the envelope otherwise indicates so.

“The Supreme Court ruling clearly stated that ballots must have postmarks on them to be counted —  and yet California politicians like Shirley Weber want to count ballots without postmarks as long as a date is scribbled on the ballot by an unknown person. This is a reckless disregard for the Supreme Court ruling and invites fraud,” DeMaio said.

Weber had the audacity to celebrate the Supreme Court’s recent ruling that states may only count ballots received after Election Day when those ballots are “post-marked by Election Day.”

“Weber celebrated that ruling like it was her win,” DeMaio adds. “Then she should live by it. The entire decision rests on ballots being cast by Election Day — and her Honor System rule can’t verify that for a single late ballot.”

DeMaio is demanding Weber revise the regulation before county officials begin mailing November ballots in early October— the first statewide election since the Court’s ruling.

About Carl DeMaio
California State Assemblymember Carl DeMaio is a member of the California State Assembly representing District 75 which includes the communities of Fallbrook, Bonsall, Valley Center, Ramona, Poway, Scripps Ranch, Santee, Lakeside, Alpine, Julian, Borrego Springs, Pala, Jamul, Pine Valley, Pauma Valley and Bonita.