Posted on 11/30/2018 5:47:57 AM PST by Kaslin
House Speaker Paul Ryan questioned California’s ballot-counting process after Democrats were able to flip several GOP-held seats.
The state’s election system “defies logic to me,” he said during an interview with the Washington Post’s Paul Kane. “We had a lot of wins that night, and three weeks later we lost basically every contested California race. This election system they have, I can’t begin to understand what ballot harvesting is.”
“We were only down 26 seats the night of the election and three weeks later, we lost basically every California race,” he continued. “This election system they have — I can’t begin to understand what ‘ballot harvesting’ is.”
He did not accuse the state of any wrongdoing and his campaign spokesman Jeremy Adler later clarified in a statement to The Hill that "The Speaker did not and does not dispute the [election] results."
“I just think it’s weird,” he said when pressed by Kane during the event.
California does have a more liberal policy when it comes to counting ballots. The Golden State allows absentee ballots to be counted if they are mailed by Election Day and arrive at the registrar by the Friday after the election. That’s why results in a handful of close California House races were not called until days, or weeks, after Nov. 6.
In many cases, the GOP candidates had been leading on election night, but Democrats ultimately prevailed as additional absentee and provisional ballots were tallied in the days after. (The Hill)
“In Wisconsin, we knew the next day. Scott Walker, my friend, I was sad to see him lose, but we accepted the results on Wednesday," Ryan said. California’s “system is bizarre; I still don’t completely understand it. There are a lot of races there we should have won.”
He called the way absentee-ballots work now “pretty loosey goose,” compared to how the program operated in the past.
“When you have candidates who win the absentee ballot vote and then lose three weeks later because of provisionals, that’s really bizarre. And so I just think that’s a very, very strange outcome,” he said.
“When you win the absentee ballots and you win the in-person vote, where I come from, you win the election,” Ryan added. “If you then — and you’re up six points or something like that, it’s really bizarre. So my only point is, I’m not saying there’s anything nefarious about it, because I just don’t know, but we believed we were up about six seats in California the night of the election, now I think we lost just about every single one of those.”
California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, the state’s top election official, took issue with Paul’s remarks.
.@SpeakerRyan, in California we make sure every ballot is properly counted and accounted for. That's not “bizarre,” that's DEMOCRACY.https://t.co/zBXiAscmRK— Alex Padilla (@AlexPadilla4CA) November 29, 2018
“It shouldn’t ‘defy logic’ that elections officials are meticulous in counting every eligible ballot,” Padilla explained, the Mercury News of San Jose reported. “California works to ensure every ballot is counted properly and every ballot is accounted for. In the most populous state in the nation — and the state with the largest number of registered voters — this takes time.”
Democrats flipped the seats held by GOP Reps. Mimi Walters, Dana Rohrabacher, Jeff Denham and Steve Knight, and won those by retiring Republican Congressmen Ed Royce and Darrell Issa. The race in California's 21st Congressional District between GOP Rep. David Valadao and Democrat T.J. Cox is too close to call still, but Cox was ahead in the last update.
I spent a year in California, it’s way over rated.
I can’t begin to understand what ballot harvesting is.”“
Really Paul? Idiot.
Remove “weather system”.
Even more descriptive.
FUPR...you corrupt spineless azzhole
Ryan is working for the Democrats. How else do you explain the absolute disaster in the House. He couldnt care less about losing seats or hed investigate, but hes too scared of being labeled as ‘insensitive’ by people who murder children and bring Socialism into our country. Motor-voter-fraud, huge spending increases, failure on Obamacare, disaster, upon disaster, upon disaster. Thanks for nothing Ryan, go find someplace to curl up and die a thousand political deaths.
They need federal investigation and federal prison time for their frauds!...... NATION WIDE!
Tomkat: There's Something 'Really Bizarre' About Ryan's Collaborationist Backstabbing
This is what a milquetoast sounds like stating the obvious from the edges. No one on our side will stand up and fight, ever.
"Yes, my abdication of responsibility to the GOP
has created voter fraud everywhere, but
it will certainly help my chances in 2020, with Mitt."
“it will certainly help my chances in the Democrat Primary in 2020”
- Leadership. It's hard to define, but you know it when you don't see it.
Ya think they cheated Lil Paulie? How about Florida New Jersey and Illinois?
He’s peeked out from behind his blinders, finally...too bad it’s 1 month before retirement. There is a wide wide world of fraud swirling all around and across the aisle if you dared to look.
If you add Ryan and Romney together you get a negative number.
California has lots of natural beauty, and I love Yosemite, Big Sur, Tahoe, Redwood, Sequoia, Point Reyes, the desert, etc. That said, there are also a lot of places in California that I don't miss.
Professional lobbyist, Paul Ryan, is part of the reason America is in critical condition. Take your Jack Kemp-style politics and scram!
Ryan's still a weakling, but he has his followers.
“Really Bizarre?”
It’s an understatement that a Brit would be proud of.
It’s a criminal enterprise!
Take out at least 1/2 of the people, like it was in the early 50’s, and it’s a tremendous place.
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