Alex Padilla: “For a party that claims to be about rights and freedoms and liberties, they're taking away rights and freedoms and…”

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.

This incident is a stark reminder of the very real danger facing those who serve the public and who help administer our elections in the face of increasingly hostile political rhetoric.

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.

Their only hope for trying to maintain any sense of power is to interfere. It’s to change the rules. It’s to rig the elections.