Riverside County Registrar of Voters (ROV) Art Tinoco Friday certified the results of the June 2 primary election, nearly a week before the July 2 deadline. Final official results, as well as information about requesting a recount, can be found here.
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The certification came two days after the ROV’s office and at least one supervisor received a letter from a member of New California State (NCS), a separatist movement that has set up an unrecognized parallel government within the state of California, urging the county to contest the certification due to what he claimed was widespread voter fraud.
The letter, sent by Robert Preston who referred to himself as the “Governor Pro Tempore” of NCS, asserted it would be a felony to certify the election given the information he presented.
“The factual basis of my request is that it is common knowledge that there has been a flood of illegal aliens into the state of California, its counties, cities and school districts,” he wrote. “Those non-citizens have apparently been allowed to register with the Department of Motor Vehicles.
With that registration, these non-citizens have been provided with voter registration and election ballots,” the letter continued. “It is also common knowledge that investigative reporters have discovered that some illegal alien/non-citizens have, in fact, voted.”
In an email to The Record, the California Secretary of State’s Office called Preston’s claims “blatantly false.”
“Undocumented individuals may obtain AB60 driver’s licenses, licenses specifically for individuals unable to provide proof of legal presence in the United States,” the statement said. “AB60 licenses are not, and have never been used, to verify a Californian’s eligibility to vote.”
The California Department of Motor Vehicles further clarified in a statement to The Record that undocumented residents who receive driver’s licenses under the provisions of AB60 “are not permitted to submit voter registration information via the department to the SOS,” noting that the SOS is the sole agency responsible for verifying voter eligibility.
Additionally, each county ROV is tasked with maintaining the local voter file. Information provided to The Record by the Riverside County ROV’s office said this was done using information from the United States Postal Service, the California Department of Motor Vehicles and other local and state agencies that provide mortality data as well as felony and conservatorship cancellation reports. Any irregularities are reported to law enforcement agencies, the ROV’s office said.
As part of his demand to delay certification, Preston also said the sheriff was obligated to investigate the allegations, which risks running afoul of a new state law put in place to address election security concerns in light of investigations happening both across the country and in Riverside County where Sheriff Chad Bianco earlier this year seized hundreds of thousands of ballots from last November’s special statewide election.
That seizure was part of the department’s probe into alleged election fraud, which has since been placed on hold due to ongoing legal proceedings. The Riverside Record first reported the investigation.
As of Friday afternoon, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said it had not received the letter, but noted it was aware that “many sheriffs across the state have,” and that “several people throughout the state have read the letter during board of supervisor meetings,” seemingly referencing this week’s Shasta County Board of Supervisors meeting.
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