The California Republican Party responded Monday to criticism over unofficial ballot drop-off boxes in counties with highly competitive U.S. House races, arguing that …
The California Republican Party responded Monday to criticism over unofficial ballot drop-off boxes in counties with highly competitive U.S. House races, arguing that state law allows “ballot harvesting,” while also slamming a $35 million contract the state’s top election official awarded to a “Team Biden” public relations firm. California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, a Democrat, had his chief legal counsel send Republicans a letter on Monday ordering them to remove unofficial ballot drop-off boxes from churches, gun shops and other locations in Fresno, Orange and Los Angeles counties by Thursday. Hector Barajas, a spokesman for the California Republican Party, told Fox News that “the secretary of state’s actions is just a deflection from the mounting criticism for giving a non-budgeted, $35 million get-out-the-vote contract to a ‘Team Biden’ PR firm, which is also receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars to oppose Republican candidates in targeted California districts.” Last week, the California state comptroller rejected the $35 million contract Padilla entered with SKD Knickerbocker, a Washington, D.C.-based public affairs firm, in late August to run the “Vote Safe California” campaign urging people to vote during the pandemic. Anita Dunn, the firm’s managing director, is a senior strategist for Biden’s presidential campaign. SKD Knickerbocker’s work for Biden is highlighted on its website, with a headline saying the company is “proud to be a part of Team Biden.” The state comptroller said Padilla lacked any budget authority to spend the millions of dollars in taxpayer funds on the voter outreach campaign, and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Foundation sent Padilla a letter on Oct.
