Special to the Vanguard
Sacramento, CA – Opponents of Prop. 1, looking at a razor-thin margin of votes now favoring the measure (20,000 out of 7.5 million cast), announced today that they are reviving their campaign, almost two weeks after voting concluded.
Californians Against Prop. 1 will join Gov. Gavin Newsom in battling to get some mail ballots counted, after they were rejected over signature mismatches and other issues.
Politico reported Friday that the governor is recruiting people to the labor-intensive job of contacting Democratic-registered voters who had their mail ballots disqualified (DQ’d). The pricey effort appears to include mailers, phone banks and canvassing efforts targeting up to 30,000 voters whose ballots were rejected.
By getting some of those Democratic voters to complete new paperwork and get their ballots counted, the governor’s team hopes to “find” more votes in favor of Prop. 1.
Paul Simmons, a director of Californians Against Prop. 1, said, “The governor’s effort to save Prop. 1 has a sleazy echo of Bush versus Gore in Florida in 2000. It’s an attempt to manipulate the final vote count by harvesting the votes of only some 
partisans in certain areas.”
“We believe all ballots should be counted,” Simmons continued. “We know that many Democrats voted against Prop. 1, so the governor’s effort is no slam dunk. If you’re a Republican or Independent, we want you to know that your ballot might make the difference in this election. But the governor won’t help you. We will.”
“If your ballot was rejected, don’t ignore the notice,” Simmons said. “Fix it. We can help. Don’t let this governor win the election with shady tactics.”
‘No on 1’ Website Refocused on Helping Voters Fix Ballot Issues
Prop. 1 opponents have overhauled their campaign website, prop1no.com, to focus on helping voters confirm whether their ballot was counted, and to help those whose mail ballots were rejected.
The site also hosts documents from each county that can be signed by a voter whose mail ballot was rejected, enabling them to get the ballot counted. Prop. 1 opponents also have begun fundraising to help get the word out to voters all over California that their ballots matter greatly to this election outcome.
Stakes Are High in Final Vote Counts
Though 7.5 million votes have been counted on Prop. 1, about 300,000 ballots remain. On average in recent primary elections, about 1.5% of mail ballots have been disqualified over issues including signature problems. That could mean over 110,000 mail ballots face disqualification in the March primary – but many could be revived and counted.
“We don’t know if reviving rejected ballots will change the outcome of this election,” Simmons said, “but if the governor thinks it might, we for damn sure aren’t going to let him have the field to himself.”
“The truth is, opposition to Prop. 1 is still substantial among Democrats, and it was rising at the end,” Simmons said. “The statewide vote is only as close as it is because Democrats were divided. The governor is not trying to help Democrats with this effort. He’s trying to help himself.”
Simmons said. “We have Prop. 1 opponents everywhere, of every political persuasion. We want to see an election result where everyone’s vote had the same, fair chance to be counted.”
The governor was slated to give his annual “state of the state” address today, but postponed it, reportedly because of the ongoing uncertainty over Prop. 1.
Simmons said, “It would be tough for Gavin Newsom to speak up today about being a governor for all Californians. This effort he’s paying for now values Democrats above all other voters. It makes all of his other rhetoric about democracy and leadership ring hollow.”
