Over the weekend ballot collection boxes sponsored by the California GOP were set up in numerous counties throughout the state, including Fresno, Los Angeles, Orange, and Ventura, presumably in an effort to conduct pandemic-friendly ballot harvesting, which is legal in the state. Word of the boxes’ existence spread quickly on social media, with the state’s Democrats suddenly clutching their pearls and worrying about ballot security.Over the weekend ballot collection boxes sponsored by the California GOP were set up in numerous counties throughout the state, including Fresno, Los Angeles, Orange, and Ventura, presumably in an effort to conduct pandemic-friendly ballot harvesting, which is legal in the state. Word of the boxes’ existence spread quickly on social media, with the state’s Democrats suddenly clutching their pearls and worrying about ballot security. //

Senator Melissa Melendez
@senatormelendez
California State law is silent on where ballots must be held in the three days between someone dropping their ballot off with a harvester and the harvester turning it in.

What republicans are doing is legal, no matter what threats the Secretary of State makes. //

As the Los Angeles Times’ John Myers tweeted, there is no evidence that Republicans placed the private dropboxes with ill intent. They simply, amazingly, decided to utilize the laws Democrats passed to help themselves, to their own advantage. Refusing to bow to the demands of Becerra and Padilla is the right move. Let them attempt to arrest people.