Donald Trump tweets video of ballots being collected after Election Day in California and puzzled woman asking 'hasn't the state been called already' despite officials saying count is still going
President Donald Trump tweeted out a video Wednesday of a woman in California questioning workers emptying a mail-in ballot box, as she inquired why the deep blue state 'already called' the winner there if they are still collecting ballots.
'You are looking at BALLOTS! Is this what our Country has come to?' Trump posted to his Twitter.
In the video posted along with the tweet, a woman is filming two men emptying a full mail-in ballot box and asking them questions.
'Are those ballots,' the woman asked, to which one of the men replied, 'Yeah.'
'I thought they collected them all, I just want to document,' she said in explaining why she was filing and asking them questions.
Trump and his aides and allies have encouraged his supporters to document and provide proof of potential voter fraud and irregularities – especially in terms of mail-in ballots. The president insists Democrats are using them as a way to 'steal' the election for Joe Biden.
'Is this what our country has come to?' President Donald Trump questioned as he tweeted a video Wednesday of a woman in California quizzing workers collecting mail-in ballots at a drop box days after Election Day
The woman asked why they were collecting the ballots even though the deep blue state had already 'called' the election for Joe Biden – state officials, however, say they are still tabulating ballots
Workers were emptying a full box of ballots into smaller bags and told the woman in the video they are taking it to the counting center
California was one of the states that sent out mail-in ballots to all 20 million plus registered voters to accommodate for those concerned about voting in person due to the coroanvirus pandemic
L.A. County officials debunked claims that his video, which has circulated on social media over the past few days, shows that people in California were able to cast votes ‘after Election Day.’
They say the video shows ballots being collected on November 4, the day after Election Day, but were deposited by voters on or before November 3.
The ballots are therefore valid and will be processed and counted per usual.
California is a blue state that has not swung for a Republican president since 1988.
'But how come they already called the state?' the woman asked.
'Because these are mail-in ballots,' the confused worker responded as he continued to empty the box and put the ballots into bags.
'Are there a ton in there?' she asked.
'Yeah.'
Biden easily won California, as he is ahead of Trump by around 5 million votes with 92 per cent reports – and will likely broaden his lead as ballots continue to filter in.
California is notoriously slow with counting ballots.
'In California, we work to ensure every ballot is counted properly and every ballot is accounted for,' California Secretary of State Alex Padilla said in a news release last week when there were still around 4.5 million ballots remaining to be counted.
California was one of the states that opted to send out mail-in ballots to every single registered voter in order to accommodate for the coronavirus pandemic, which left many uncomfortable with voting in-person this year.
As of Wednesday, 15.7 million ballots were counted – still leaving more than 5 million ballots up in the air.
Over the weekend, most major media outlets – including the Associated Press – called the election for Biden and the former vice president declared victory and began setting up his transition team, establishing a coronavirus task force and announcing Cabinet picks.
California, which has not voted for a Republican president since 1988, is deeply blue and known for being extremely slow when counting ballots. As of Wednesday evening, 92 per cent of the vote was counted in the state
Biden is ahead of Trump by around 5 million votes in California and over the weekend became the projected winner as he passed the 270 Electoral College vote threshold to become the next president
Trump, however, has still not conceded, claiming the election was rigged, fraudulent and stolen and launched several lawsuits in key states like Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia and Pennsylvania.
His team maintains that Democrats cheated by accepting ballots after Election Day and continuing to count mail-in ballots that were postmarked no later than November 3.
Trump supporters have protested outside tabulation centers demanded they 'stop the count' and 'stop the steal.'
The president was leading in some battleground states and Election Day votes began to filter in, but as many states continued counting mail-in ballots, Biden pulled ahead in a few that cost Trump the race – like Georgia and Wisconsin.
In the video Trump posted, the workers asked the woman to back away a few times, noting that she was not standing six feet away and lamenting she was not wearing a face covering.