Alex Padilla: “These communities are hurting and dying at alarming rates, and they desperately need someone who knows these communities…”

This lawsuit has no legal basis or evidence behind it and is nothing more than a blatant abuse of power designed to sow distrust in our elections and threaten Americans’ right to vote.

My office is in touch with the FBI, U.S. Postal Service and Senate security officials following a suspicious package the U.S. Postal Service intercepted before reaching our office. Thankfully, no threat was posed to my staff or our office.

Still, this incident is a stark reminder of the very real dangers facing those who serve the public and who help administer our elections in the face of increasingly hostile political rhetoric — especially from Donald Trump.

I know how California elections work very, very well. They’re safe, they’re secure. They’re fair, they’re free, and they’re going to stay that way.