California’s most pressing problems are the state’s extreme homelessness and its incapacity to force mentally ill homeless persons to follow treatment regimens, which include taking medication and receiving inpatient care. Despite spending billions of dollars on treatment programs, bridge homes, housing, and other related services over the past 20 years, the problem and the number of deaths have only gotten worse.
With the public now aware of the severity of the issue, Gov. Gavin Newsom understands that addressing it is necessary if he is to be a credible contender for the presidency in the future. Thus, he became the face of a campaign to get a $6.4 billion ballot item on the March ballot, which was marketed as a means of providing treatment and homes for homeless persons with mental illnesses.
By over 20 points, Newsom won reelection in 2022. His Yes on 1 campaign raised almost $21 million to take over digital, TV, and radio airways, while the No on 1 campaign only spent a few thousand dollars. The California Republican Party refrained from taking a position against it (more on that in a later article). I mean, Newsom ought to have won easily, right?
False.
Only 17,000 votes separated the proposal from victory as of Monday morning, and there were more than 200,000 unprocessed ballots in the state. That has been the margin for almost a week, and Newsom postponed his planned Monday State of the State speech out of fear of losing.
Additionally, through his Campaign for Democracy PAC, he has initiated a large statewide drive to get the necessary votes to guarantee the approval of Prop. 1.
In part, the email states:
“It’s getting close to counting time for the votes. We need help reaching out to Democrats who have had their ballots rejected for reasons like failing to add a signature and have their ballots counted.”
That seems kind of familiar, doesn’t it? A different elected person faced charges for allegedly attempting to “find” enough votes in a statewide election.
Why, therefore, isn’t the media exploding with accusations that Newsom is attempting to rig an election or that he is an election denier? After all, his primary goal is to guarantee that the votes of a certain voter group are tallied, and he is utilizing his federal PAC to recruit and train volunteers. Do Republican voters’ and nonpartisan voters’ ballots have less value in free and fair elections? Does he wish to deny these folks their rights?
Author: Scott Dowdy
