Setting up a potential legal showdown over California's presidential election, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday announced the state will send every voter a mail-in ballot for the November contest, a move criticized by national Republicans as a pathway to possible large-scale abuse.
With the state still under stay-at-home orders and facing a future of unknowns from the coronavirus outbreak, the Democratic governor said sending postage-paid ballots to every registered voter was the best solution to addressing the anxiety felt by many people about gathering in large groups that are breeding grounds for the virus.