Who will replace Gov. Gavin Newsom? Will Californians impose a wealth tax on billionaires? And which party will control Congress in the final two years of President Donald Trump’s second term? We’ll start to find out tonight.
CalMatters journalists are covering the election in every corner of the state and we’ll post live updates here. Reporters Marisa Kendall in Oakland and Nigel Duara in Los Angeles anchored our coverage during the day. Adam Echelman in San Francisco, Nadia Lathan in Sacramento and Mikhail Zinshteyn in Los Angeles will be posting through the night.
Thank you for joining us!
New
9th Circuit vacates order that would have let Trump challenge CA ballots
The Trump administration can’t sequester California ballots or threaten election workers with prosecution under a federal appellate court ruling handed down Monday, in a case that saw the federal government win and then just as quickly lose.
The Service Employees International Union sued the federal government, alleging violations of the Voting Rights Act. It requested and won a restraining order last week forbidding the federal government from sequestering more ballots and threatening local election officials with prosecution.
The government challenged that restraining order, and on Monday, it won, briefly. A three-judge panel on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that challenging ballots was a right of the government and “core executive (branch) function.”
“At most, (the SEIU and the other plaintiffs) fear a possibility of a future prosecution,” said the appellate court order. “ If such a prosecution is ever brought, the prosecution itself supplies the means by which any defect, vindictiveness included, can be raised and remedied.”
But a second hearing among all the 9th Circuit justices vacated that decision in a terse order handed down hours later on Monday. The decision will be reheard by the full panel.
— Nigel Duara
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As polls open, Newsom promised lawyers will be safeguarding Californians’ right to vote
Happy Election Day! If you’re looking for updates about voting and results, we’ve got you covered here all day and into this evening.
First up: In-person Election Day voting has begun. Amid worries of federal interference, Gov. Gavin Newsom has said 134 election law attorneys and 1,000 volunteer poll workers will be deployed to guard against voter intimidation and suppression. Another 54 people will be manning a hotline, run by the California Democratic Party, that voters can call to report suspicious activity at the polls: 1-877-321-VOTE.
“We’re not screwing around,” Newsom said last week on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
The lawyers and poll volunteers will be in five areas: the 6th congressional district (Sacramento area), the 13th and 22nd districts (Central Valley), the 45th district (Orange and Los Angeles counties), and the 48th district (San Diego and Riverside counties), according to The Sacramento Bee.
— Marisa Kendall
