Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) said in a CNN interview on Thursday that the GOP has gone “off the rails” with placing unauthorized drop boxes in counties throughout the state.
During an interview with CNN’s Don Lemon, Schwarzenegger said he felt that the Republican Party was doing a “stupid thing” by distributing the boxes.
“It’s a stupid thing that they’re doing right now with those ballot boxes,” he said. “I think it’s just Mickey Mouse stuff that, you know, has serious kind of effects.”
He said the party should be more invested in making sure that everyone is able to vote “rather than make those fake ballot boxes.”
California election officials on Monday issued a cease-and-desist letter to Republicans in the state asking them to remove ballot drop boxes incorrectly labeled as “official,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
California Secretary of State Alex Padilla and State Attorney General Xavier Becerra gave Republicans until Thursday to remove more than 50 unauthorized boxes placed in Los Angeles, Orange and Fresno counties.
Hector Barajas, a spokesman for the state GOP, said Monday that the ballot boxes were legal because state law permits organizations, volunteers and campaign workers to gather finished ballots and drop them off at polling places or election offices.
“If Democrats are so concerned with ballot harvesting, they are the ones who wrote the legislation, voted for it, and Governor Jerry Brown signed it into law,” Barajas said a statement. He added that the “Democrat anger is overblown.”
President Trump tweeted in support of the Republicans who installed the drop boxes on Wednesday. The president has repeatedly criticized Democrats, alleging they are “ballot harvesting,” when a third-party gathers completed ballots.
“Fight hard Republicans,” Trump tweeted Thursday. “They have been taking advantage of the system for years!”
Trump posted a similar tweet Tuesday night. “You mean only Democrats are allowed to do this? But haven’t the Dems been doing this for years? See you in court. Fight hard Republicans!” he wrote.
In response, Becerra instructed those handling ballot boxes to “obey the law—not politicians.”
“The last person who should be providing legal advice is the guy who has lost to California in court over and over,” he wrote.