A fake voting center was apparently set up in California — and even handed out 'I Voted' stickers
Officials in Orange County, California, are investigating reports that on Tuesday, a fake voting center was set up in the city of Westminster.
The site allegedly accepted ballots and even distributed "I Voted" stickers, the Los Angeles Times reports. An organizer for the OCForBlackLives group said in a video on Twitter that while patrolling neighborhoods for voter fraud, an activist saw a handmade "Vote Here" sign at a building and watched as people walked in with their ballots and left with "I Voted" stickers. The Orange County Registrar of Voters confirmed that it was not an official polling site, and the agency and the district attorney's office are investigating.
The Times reports that the purported polling center was at an address listed as the headquarters of Apogee International. Apogee is a skincare company owned by the vice mayor of Westminster, Dr. Kimberly Ho, who is running for re-election. The Times called Apogee, and the man who answered the phone said the address was Ho's campaign headquarters. He would not comment on the fake voting site reports, only saying, "You need to talk with the lawyer."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The lawyer, Van Tran, told the Times people did go there to drop off their ballots, but then claimed the campaign was only helping "advise" them on how to vote. A video was shot at the location that showed boxes, and Tran claimed they held empty ballot envelopes and not ballots. "It's a false controversy that the opponents are creating," Tran told the Times. "There is absolutely no evidence whatsoever that any illegality is happening."
Activists who stood outside of the office building told the Times that wasn't the case, with Justin Frazier of the Clarity O.C. organizations saying, "I don't even know who [Ho's] opponent is."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
The Week Unwrapped: What’s the cost of PFAs?Podcast Plus why is George Osborne joining OpenAI? And has universal basic income finally come of age?
-
The week’s best photosIn Pictures A dervish dance off, a frosty forest, and more
-
Mount Rainier is on its way downUnder the radar Its peak elevation is approximately 20 feet lower than it once was
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’
-
House GOP revolt forces vote on ACA subsidiesSpeed Read The new health care bill would lower some costs but not extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies
-
Hegseth rejects release of full boat strike footageSpeed Read There are calls to release video of the military killing two survivors of a Sept. 2 missile strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat
-
Trump vows naval blockade of most Venezuelan oilSpeed Read The announcement further escalates pressure on President Nicolás Maduro
-
Kushner drops Trump hotel project in SerbiaSpeed Read Affinity Partners pulled out of a deal to finance a Trump-branded development in Belgrade
-
Senate votes down ACA subsidies, GOP alternativeSpeed Read The Senate rejected the extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, guaranteeing a steep rise in health care costs for millions of Americans
-
Abrego García freed from jail on judge’s orderSpeed Read The wrongfully deported man has been released from an ICE detention center
-
Indiana Senate rejects Trump’s gerrymander pushSpeed Read The proposed gerrymander would have likely flipped the state’s two Democratic-held US House seats
