out of the trump playbook
Ahead of California's recall election, Larry Elder website blames loss on voter fraud
California's recall election isn't until Tuesday, but a website sponsored by Republican candidate Larry Elder is already asking voters to sign a petition "demanding" the California legislature investigate "the twisted results of the 2021 recall election of Gov. Gavin Newsom."
The website, called Stop CA Fraud, states it is paid for by the Larry Elder Ballot Measure Committee Recall Newsom Committee, which is receiving major funding from Elder for Governor 2021. It falsely says that officials are "either through laziness or incompetence" allowing "thieves to steal amidst the dead of night and cheat our ballot box," which in turn means people "can no longer rely on its contents."
It also claims that "statistical analyses used to detect fraud in elections held in 3rd-world nations (such as Russia, Venezuela, and Iran) have detected fraud in California resulting in Gov. Gavin Newsom being reinstated as governor." In addition to signing the petition, visitors to the website are able to donate to Elder's recall efforts.
NBC News reports that the site was registered anonymously in August, and after the Elder campaign was contacted about it on Monday afternoon, a disclaimer appeared revealing who funds the site. In a statement, Elder spokeswoman Ying Ma said, "We should all be concerned about election integrity and we all want every proper vote to be counted. We've provided a link to an outside website that is providing an avenue for voters to document irregularities they encounter in this election." She added that the campaign believes "Larry will win on Election Day."
Elder is a conservative radio talk show host and the leading Republican candidate in the recall effort. During an interview with NBC News on Monday, he was asked about whether he will accept the results of Tuesday's election. "Let's all work together to find out whether or not the election tomorrow is a fair election," Elder replied. Newsom has a double-digit lead in most recent polls, suggesting the recall effort will fail.