[ExI] Yet more misinformation of the sort found on TwitterX

[John Clark]

On Sun, Aug 16, 2026 at 1:27 PM <spike at rainier66.com> wrote:


*>..In 2020 in California more people vote**d*
>> * for Trump then Texans voted for Trump…*
>
>
> *> This we do not know, for California has legal ballot harvesting.  In
> the most populous state in the union it is legal to “collect” ballots.
> Consequence, we do not know what was the popular vote here, consequently we
> do not know what is the popular vote in the USA.  *
>


*I gave the following question to Grok, an AI run by some woke ultra left
wing guy named Elon Musk.  *

*ME: * *I told a friend that In 2020 in California more people voted for
Trump then Texans voted for Trump but he said "This we do not know, for
California has legal ballot harvesting.  In the most populous state in the
union it is legal to “collect” ballots.  Consequently, we do not know what
the popular vote in California was, so we do not know what is the popular
vote in the USA." *
*Is that true?*

*GROK: " No, that claim is not true.* Ballot harvesting (more accurately,
third-party ballot collection or return) is legal in California, but it
does not mean the popular vote totals are unknown or unverifiable. Official
certified results exist for California and the United States, and they show
Trump receiving more votes in California than in Texas.
California’s rules on third-party ballot return

Since 2016 (Assembly Bill 1921), California law has allowed any person to
return a completed vote-by-mail ballot on behalf of a voter. This practice
is sometimes called “ballot harvesting.” It is legal and regulated in
California (and permitted with varying restrictions in other states).
Critics argue it weakens chain-of-custody protections and creates
opportunities for pressure or fraud; supporters say it increases access for
voters who have difficulty returning ballots themselves. *There have been
no widespread, credible findings of systematic illegal alteration or
substitution of ballots via this method that would invalidate California’s
2020 totals*. Isolated concerns, lawsuits, and observer reports exist, but
they have not overturned or rendered the official results unknowable.
Official 2020 results

   - *California*: Trump received approximately 6,006,429 votes (about
   34.3%). Biden received about 11,110,250 (about 63.5%). These are the
   certified figures from the California Secretary of State and widely
   reported sources.
   - *Texas*: Trump received approximately 5,890,347–5,890,428 votes (about
   52%). Biden received about 5,259,000.

Trump’s California total exceeded his Texas total by roughly
100,000–116,000 votes. California is far more populous, so higher absolute
Republican votes there (even in a loss) are unsurprising and consistent
with prior elections.
Why the popular vote is not “unknown”

California conducted the election under its laws, including universal
vote-by-mail in 2020 (ballots mailed to all active registered voters),
signature verification on returned envelopes, tracking systems (such as
BallotTrax), and official drop-off options. Results were canvassed,
certified by the Secretary of State, and accepted for the Electoral
College. The same certified state totals form the basis of the national
popular vote. Legal third-party return does not erase the recorded,
counted, and certified ballots.

Concerns about election integrity, signature matching standards, voter-roll
maintenance, or the wisdom of unrestricted third-party collection are
legitimate topics of debate and policy disagreement. Some analyses and
lawsuits have raised specific issues in California. However, those *concerns
do not support the stronger claim that “we do not know” the popular vote in
California or the United States*. The official, certified numbers are
public and show more Trump votes in California than in Texas."

* John K Clark*
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