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Alex Padilla on Government Reform
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Yes to expanding Supreme Court; not sure on term limits
Expanding, in my mind balancing the Supreme Court, absolutely. Anybody who tries to criticize those proposals and tries to reframe it as stacking, stacking is what McConnell and Trump have been doing the last several years.
So yes, it's time to rebalance the Supreme Court. In terms of term limits, I have mixed feelings on that. There are good arguments to be had there.
Source: Washington Post on 2022 California Senate race
, Mar 23, 2021
Implemented same-day voter registration
Alex has worked to make our elections more accessible and inclusive, while fighting to protect the integrity of our voting systems:- Voter registration is at an all-time high - over 22 million Californians are registered to vote, the highest rate
in 68 years.
- Implemented innovations like same-day registration, online pre-registration for 16- and 17-year olds and automatic voter registration.
- Modernized voting systems to prevent hacking, fraud and manipulation.
Source: 2022 California Senate campaign website Alex-Padilla.com
, Dec 23, 2020
Gave voter outreach money to consulting firm, not counties
Bypassing the state's regulations that ensure fair contracting, Padilla gave a $35 million "voter outreach" contract to a partisan Washington D.C. based political consulting firm. In an affront to public trust, Mr. Padilla ignored the Legislature's
intended purpose for the money. He spent this money instead of sending it to the counties. As written in the state budget, this funding was supposed to go to local elections officials to administer November's election, not to bankroll a partisan firm.
Source: Sacramento Bee on 2022 California Senate race
, Dec 3, 2020
Has focused on lowering barriers to voting
Padilla has focused on lowering barriers to voting in California. He's been sued by Republicans who say he's failed to rid voter rolls of dead or duplicated voters. "If you're a Republican, you probably see Alex Padilla as really supporting Democratic
causes. If you're a Democrat, you probably see Alex Padilla is doing what he should be doing, which is expanding the ability of people to easily vote to make sure that the barriers to vote are very low," said Loyola Law School's Jessica Levinson.
Source: KQED San Francisco 88.5 FM on 2022 California Senate race
, Oct 12, 2020
Supported allowing let 17-year-olds vote in primaries
[OpEd by Padilla]: Allowing those who turn 18 by the general election the right to vote in primary elections will kick start voter education much earlier And when people start voting at a younger age, they are more likely to become higher propensity
voters and be more engaged in their communities.A civically engaged citizenry feeds oxygen to our democracy. Teaching young voters the value of this right and responsibility will show them the power they possess to shape their future.
Source: San Diego Union Tribune on 2022 California Senate race
, Sep 17, 2020
Reducing city council districts an assault on voting rights
The state's top elections official showed up in Santa Clara to denounce the city's effort to shrink the number of council districts. Secretary of State Alex Padilla said Measure C would unlawfully exclude people of color from representation in their
local government. At a presser hosted by the Council on American Islamic Relations in Santa Clara, Padilla said the initiative echoes the "strategic assault" on voting rights by the White House and GOP-led state legislatures throughout the country.
Source: San Jose Inside on 2022 California Senate race
, Sep 17, 2020
Vote by mail works in blue states and red states
Alex Padilla condemned Trump's latest tweetstorm threatening to pull federal funding to Nevada and Michigan if they proceed with vote-by-mail drives, calling it Trump's "clearest example yet of using disinformation to try and influence the
November election." "It's particularly appalling because there's many blue states that do a good amount of vote-by-mail, like California - as well as many red states, like Utah," Padilla said.
Source: Politico e-zine on 2022 California Senate race
, May 2, 2020
Remove President Trump from office for inciting insurrection.
Padilla voted YEA removing President Trump from office for inciting insurrection
GovTrack.us summary of H.Res.24: Article of Impeachment Against Former President Donald John Trump:
The House impeached President Trump for the second time, charging him with incitement of insurrection. The impeachment resolution accused the President of inciting the violent riot that occurred on January 6, when his supporters invaded the United States Capitol injuring and killing Capitol Police and endangering the safety of members of Congress. It cites statements from President Trump to the rioters such as `if you don't fight like hell you're not going to have a country anymore,` as well as persistent lies that he won the 2020 Presidential election.
Legislative Outcome:
Bill introduced Jan 11, 2021, with 217 co-sponsors; House rollcall vote #117 passed 232-197-4 on Jan. 13th (a YES vote in the House was to impeach President Trump for inciting insurrection); Senate rollcall vote #59 rejected 57-43-0 on Feb. 13th (2/3 required in Senate to pass; a YES vote in the Senate would have found President Trump guilty, but since he had already left office at that time, a guilty verdict would have barred Trump from running for President in the future)
Source: Congressional vote 21-HR24S on Jan 11, 2021
Page last updated: Dec 15, 2021