Posts Tagged: . fraud.

Opinion

For ballot measures, a look at online signature-gathering

An illustration of a voter making choices online, as opposed to a traditional ballot or petition. (Image: Marko Aliaksandr, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: Most everyone has had the experience of being approached by someone outside a library, grocery store or entertainment venue carrying a clipboard, asking you to sign their petition for some issue they want on the ballot. Many of us have had someone come to our door asking us to sign a petition to get their favorite candidate on the ballot. 

Analysis

California’s homicide numbers can be misleading

An officer exits his vehicle prior to conducting a search in Ventura. (Photo: Glenn Highcove, via Shutterstock)

ANALYSIS: In late July, the Office of the Attorney General released Homicide in California 2020, its annual report on the state’s murders. Media outlets in California and elsewhere quickly covered the report. The story, targeting a “31 percent increase in murders, the most in 13 years,” was reported by a variety of news organizations.

Opinion

A good thing: CA’s new consumer financial protection setup

A woman balancing her books with the help of a calculator. (Photo: fizkes, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: Oversight can protect and level the playing field for both parties, as we will see soon in California with the state’s recent decision to “modernize” its lead financial regulatory agency, the Department of Business Oversight, into the new Department of Financial Protection & Innovation (DPFI).

Opinion

Prison-inmate fraud is last straw for beleaguered EDD

An Employment Development Department office in Sacramento. (Photo: Screen capture, ABC7 News)

‌As residents of one of the highest taxed states in the nation, Californians‌ have a right to expect the government they pay handsomely to provide the basic services their taxes fund. For‌ ‌instance,  ‌we‌ ‌expect‌ ‌that‌ ‌when‌ ‌we‌ ‌have‌ ‌an‌ ‌emergency‌ ‌and‌ ‌we‌ ‌dial‌  ‌9-1-1,‌ ‌help‌ ‌will‌ ‌arrive‌ ‌in‌ ‌a‌ ‌burst‌ ‌of‌ ‌flashing‌ ‌lights,‌ ‌sirens,‌ ‌and‌ ‌hurried‌ ‌professionals.‌

News

CA120: Conspiracy theories may backfire — on both parties

A photo illustration of whisper campaigns and conspiracies. (Image: Valery Sidelnykov, via Shutterstock)

In our culture, conspiracy theories are running rampant, and elections seem to be particularly prone to the craziest among them. Republicans, led by the president, have claimed that vote-by-mail is unsafe, non-citizens are registered to vote and casting ballots. Ballot “harvesting” is causing rampant voter fraud, President Trump says, and the system is being rigged against him.  Even Attorney General Bill Barr claimed, incorrectly, that vote-by-mail eliminates the secret nature of voting in the US.

Podcast

Capitol Weekly Podcast: Kim Alexander on voting by mail

Kim Alexander at Capitol Weekly's Post-Mortem of the 2018 Election. Photo by Scott Duncan, Capitol Weekly

Following the harrowing scenes of voters braving long lines and exposure to the coronavirus during Wisconsin’s primary election last week, there is a renewed discussion of the importance of vote-by-mail options.

News

Partisanship roils voting reform efforts

A sign outside a Los Angeles voting location in 10 languages. (Photo: Underawesternsky, via Shutterstock)

Moves to make voting easier in California have caused yet another divide between Republicans and Democrats. The Republicans say they are worried because the door to voter fraud might swing wide open. Democrats say California needs greater civic participation by groups who have historically shown lackluster voting turnouts, and automatic vote-by-mail and electronic registration will help.

News

California story: Tracking down VW fraud

A top view of a VW diesel engine. (Photo: Shanti Hesse)

The California Air Resources Board’s aggressive questioning of Volkswagen about emission test results led to the company admitting in 2015 that it used a “defeat device” designed to cover up diesel emissions that greatly exceeded legal limits. The massive fraud case — it included a $14.7 billion settlement in 2016 and $4.7 billion in civil and criminal fines this year — dramatically underscored California’s role as a national and international air-quality watch dog.

Analysis

PolitiFact: Trump wrong on CA voter fraud

Trump offered no evidence about California voter fraud in his series of tweets. Trump spokesman Jason Miller cited a national study done by the Pew Research Center showing that approximately 24 million voter registrations in the United States are no longer valid or inaccurate. However, no one from Trump’s office has shown evidence of “serious voter fraud” in California.

News

CA120: Myth of the ‘independents’

A voters hows his badge of independence. (Photo: Joe Belanger, via Shutterstock)

Donald Trump is not just the Republican presidential nominee in California. If you got your ballot in the mail, you might have noticed one little oddity: Under Donald Trump’s name you’ll find not only his Republican Party, but also the little known American Independent Party (AIP).

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