SACRAMENTO, Calif. _ California Secretary of State Alex Padilla on Friday certified a record-breaking count of 14.6 million ballots cast statewide, calling the November 2016 election "smooth" and free of compromises or breaches.
Padilla, a Democrat who endorsed Hillary Clinton during the primary season, once more disputed a claim by President-elect Donald Trump of rampant voter fraud statewide, saying it was "absolutely false" and without basis or evidence.
Padilla would not speculate as to what could happen Monday, when the members of the electoral college across the nation cast their votes for president. But he said he hoped that process in California would go as smoothly as the general election.
"Bottom line, I can assure you that the elections officials at the state level and across all 58 counties pride themselves on professionalism," he said. "We stand by the results. We stand by the process, and we stand by protecting people's voting rights in California."
Padilla told the Los Angeles Times' editorial board Thursday that he believes it's wrong to consider overhauling some parts of federal voting law without also weighing the merits of the electoral college in the modern era. But he declined to say whether he thinks _ as some have suggested _ that presidential electors in states across the nation should be allowed to vote their conscience when they meet this week. California law requires the 55 electors chosen by Democrats to vote for the nominees of their party.
"I think the state law is pretty clear in California on what electors are supposed to do," he said.
Election results show Clinton won the state with 62.2 percent of the popular vote _ 4.2 million votes over Trump, the largest margin of victory for a presidential candidate since 1936.
The last time California saw a record number of ballots cast was in 2008, when 13.7 million votes were counted. Registered voter turnout in November reached more than 75 percent, with nearly 58 percent of voters casting their ballots by mail.
