California Gov. Gavin Newsom's executive order that will allow every registered voter in the state to receive a mail-in ballot is a major threat to the integrity of the election, Family Research Council president Tony Perkins wrote in a commentary in The Daily Signal on Tuesday.
As the California Globe pointed out, there are some 458,000 residents who died or moved who remain on the "active" rolls, because the state has not cleaned up its voting records in two decades. In addition, another 24,000 people will receive two or more ballots, Election Integrity Project California warns, meaning there will be some half a million suspect ballots floating around.
Perkins said there is no oversight in such a procedure. MIT's elections Lab explains the possibilities for coercion and voter impersonation are greater, because the ballot is not cast in public, and then the transmission trail for vote-by-mail ballots is not as secure as in-person ones.
He also stresses such a significant change is how ballots are cast should not be done by executive order, but should be passed by a legislature after proper debate and consideration for working out potential problems.
Perkins said the pandemic is not excuse for the change, insisting a way to vote in person is possible if people managed to figure out how to get to the grocery store during the coronavirus crisis.
He emphasized this is not only an issue about the upcoming elections, but also for future ones and should be a concern for members of both parties and independents to ensure the democratic system remains an honest one, free from coercion and fraud.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.