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To: Governor Gavin Newsom, and California Assembly and Senate
Petition for Emergency Legislation to Mandate Hand-Counting of Ballots for Election Security
We, the undersigned citizens of California, urgently petition you to enact emergency legislation to protect the integrity of our elections.
Dominion Voting Systems, a vendor whose technology is used to tabulate votes in numerous California counties, was acquired in October 2025 by a new entity, Liberty Vote.
The founder of Liberty Vote, Scott Leiendecker, is a former Republican election official whose public announcements have aligned with partisan rhetoric challenging election security and have included a pledge to comply with President Trump's currently enjoined executive order on elections.
This sudden change in ownership to an entity with a clear political alignment introduces an unacceptable and partisan risk to the neutral administration of California's elections, regardless of the technology's current certification status. Public trust is paramount, and this acquisition has fundamentally compromised it.
The California Secretary of State's Office issued a memorandum (CC/ROV #25142) on October 17, 2025, stating that the certification of the voting machines is tied to their "system configuration, not the ownership structure of the vendor" and that the systems "remain fully certified, secure, and operationally unchanged."
We believe this bureaucratic stance fails to address the serious political and public trust crisis created by this acquisition. The control and future servicing of our election infrastructure by a partisan entity is a direct threat, even if the current software is unchanged.
Current California law (specifically, Assembly Bill 969) prohibits a full manual tally of ballots in most elections, forcing a reliance on the very machine-based systems that are now a source of critical concern.
The existing "1% manual tally" is a valuable but insufficient audit. It is not a substitute for a comprehensive hand count that would fully restore public faith and ensure this new partisan ownership cannot influence our election outcomes.
Therefore, be it resolved that we, the people of California, demand the following immediate actions:
The California Secretary of State's Office issued a memorandum (CC/ROV #25142) on October 17, 2025, stating that the certification of the voting machines is tied to their "system configuration, not the ownership structure of the vendor" and that the systems "remain fully certified, secure, and operationally unchanged."
We believe this bureaucratic stance fails to address the serious political and public trust crisis created by this acquisition. The control and future servicing of our election infrastructure by a partisan entity is a direct threat, even if the current software is unchanged.
Current California law (specifically, Assembly Bill 969) prohibits a full manual tally of ballots in most elections, forcing a reliance on the very machine-based systems that are now a source of critical concern.
The existing "1% manual tally" is a valuable but insufficient audit. It is not a substitute for a comprehensive hand count that would fully restore public faith and ensure this new partisan ownership cannot influence our election outcomes.
Therefore, be it resolved that we, the people of California, demand the following immediate actions:
- Convene an Emergency Session of the state legislature to address this clear and present threat to our election integrity.
- Pass Emergency Legislation to repeal or suspend Assembly Bill 969 and any other statutes that prohibit a full manual count of all ballots cast.
- Mandate a Full Hand Count of all ballots in future California elections, either in addition to or as a complete replacement for, tabulation by any machine-based voting system now owned or serviced by Liberty Vote (formerly Dominion).
We call on you to act decisively to defend our democracy from partisan capture and restore faith in the sacred integrity of our vote.
Why is this important?
The recent acquisition of Dominion Voting Systems by Liberty Vote highlights a dangerous reality. Our election security is at risk; the most essential part of our democracy is our right to vote unmolested.
When the Oligarchs seek to undermine our democracy through technology, it is often the case that older, tested methods can foil their complex means of manipulation.
In essence, to outmaneuver their intent to manipulate our constitutional vote to free and fair elections, we must demand that our State, Governor, Assembly, and Senate lead the way for other Democratic states to follow.
We have led the way with Prop 50, and we encourage our leadership to continue this trend by taking steps to protect our rights as Californians and as Americans to free and fair elections.
When the Oligarchs seek to undermine our democracy through technology, it is often the case that older, tested methods can foil their complex means of manipulation.
In essence, to outmaneuver their intent to manipulate our constitutional vote to free and fair elections, we must demand that our State, Governor, Assembly, and Senate lead the way for other Democratic states to follow.
We have led the way with Prop 50, and we encourage our leadership to continue this trend by taking steps to protect our rights as Californians and as Americans to free and fair elections.