California lawmakers advanced legislation Monday that would require the names and addresses of those who signed recall petitions to remove Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom become public.
The bill passed the California Senate Elections Committee by a 4-1 vote along party lines, with state Sen. Jim Nielsen, the lone Republican on the committee, voting against.
“There’s a concerted attempt to make recalling an elected official more difficult,” Nielsen wrote in a statement on Twitter. “They are doing everything to keep their jobs except input from the public. Elected officials must be responsive to their constituents.”
The bill to turn recall petitions into Soviet-style dissident lists signed by more than two million people now heads to the Senate Judiciary Committee for final approval before consideration by the full chamber.
Harmeet Dhillon, who runs a major San Francisco-based law firm and launched the Center for American Liberty, immediately threatened California lawmakers with legal action over the new legislation.
Prepare for lawsuits https://t.co/FeO2BdAZpH
— Harmeet K. Dhillon (@pnjaban) April 12, 2021
Major corporations, which fed hysteria over mild election reforms in Georgia with boycotts, have gone silent on California legislators in pursuit of actual voter intimidation.
In response to Republicans passing a new law in Georgia that expanded early voting and mandates ID for ballot access, Major League Baseball moved its lucrative all-star game worth $100 million in local revenue from the majority-black city of Atlanta to Denver, where less than 10 percent of the population is black, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Social justice accomplished.
MLB did not immediately respond to The Federalist’s inquiries about whether it would condemn the California legislation.
More than 100 other companies condemned the slight electoral improvements in Georgia, fanning the flames of hysteria set by Democrats. This included President Joe Biden, who called the legislation “Jim Crow on steroids.”
“We believe every American should have a voice in our democracy and that voting should be safe and accessible to all voters,” says a joint statement from big businesses organized by Civic Alliance. In the context of accusations hurled by Democrats, that would mean free of intimidation. The response to California legislators pursuing actual intimidation to the benefit of the political consultant class, however, is radio silence.
Coca-Cola also released statements vilifying Georgia lawmakers over the new law.
“We want to be crystal clear and state unambiguously that we are disappointed in the outcome of the Georgia voting legislation,” the soft-drink CEO James Quincey wrote in a statement. “Throughout Georgia’s legislative session we provided feedback to members of both legislative chambers and political parties, opposing measures in the bills that would diminish or deter access to voting.”
Coca-Cola also did not respond to The Federalist’s request for comment on whether it engaged in the same state-level activism in California, given the company’s newfound interest in election law.
Privacy at the ballot box has been a fundamental pillar of U.S. free and fair elections since reforms of the late 19th century, and recall petitions demanding removal of an unpopular politician enjoy the same license in California. Compelling petition lists to reveal names and addresses of signatories marks the greatest voter intimidation effort in decades, despite the gaslighting from Democrats such as Stacey Abrams. Corporations, however, seem uninterested.
