California Governor Newsom Announces Deployment of Election Lawyers to Monitor Vote Counting: More Than 800 Poll Observers and 134 Attorneys Across Five Key Congressional Districts
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Wednesday night, October 28, that he will deploy statewide teams of election-law attorneys and poll watchers to monitor vote counting during the November 3 general election, stationed at county election offices with a focus on California's 6th, 13th, 22nd, 45th and 48th congressional districts.
According to Newsom, the election integrity teams will include more than 800 poll observers, 134 election law attorneys and 54 hotline operators. Attorneys and trained volunteers will be stationed at county election offices throughout Election Day, especially in those key districts, for as long as counting takes.
The California Democratic Party has created a multilingual voter-protection hotline and a statewide legal rapid-response ballot-curing assistance program to help eligible voters resolve ballot issues and ensure their votes are counted. Voters can report issues or request assistance by calling 1-877-321-VOTE (8683).
California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks said in a statement that the party is mobilizing volunteers and deploying voter protection teams to ensure every eligible Californian can cast a ballot and every legal vote is counted.
Newsom said in a statement that a federal badge is not a license to intimidate voters or interfere with an election, and cited a new state law making it a felony to illegally seize ballots before election results are certified. In a post on his official social media account, he wrote that he is deploying election lawyers to key battleground districts in California to protect every vote.
The announcement comes amid a dispute between the federal Justice Department and California over voter eligibility: the Justice Department has sued the state seeking to set aside more than 20,000 ballots it believes were sent to noncitizens and has announced plans to deploy federal personnel to monitor elections, while a federal judge earlier this week rejected the department's emergency bid to set those ballots aside. Newsom said the state teams will monitor the federal agents the administration plans to place at polling locations.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 加州州长 Gavin Newsom 在州长讲台前发言，身后为美国旗与加州旗（加州州长办公室官方资料图，公共领域）
