CALIFORNIA voting as BERNIE pushes for NPPs — FBI arrests hacker from CA-25 race — OC fights feds on CORONAVIRUS — BECERRA defies TRUMP on ABORTION Presented by Facebook

THE BUZZ: A week and a day out from Super Tuesday, California’s voting machinery has whirred fully into gear.

You may have already received and filled out one of 16 million-plus ballots that have been mailed out to voters in recent weeks. This weekend marked the next phase in California’s 2020 voting experience as a wave of vote centers opened in more than a dozen counties that collectively contain more than half the state’s electorate, including Los Angeles (where the LA Times reports there were early hiccups in deploying a new $300 million system).


The voting centers come courtesy of a 2016 law that sought to grow the number of California voters, passed in response to dismal 2014 turnout, by boosting mail voting and shifting from polling places tied to a voter’s address to vote centers that are open to anyone in a given county. As of this morning, 1.8 million ballots have been turned in statewide, per Political Data Inc.’s handy tracker.

The through line here is California striving to make voting as easy as possible. Contrasting with Republican-controlled states that have tightened rules around areas like registration and voter ID, Democrat-dominated Sacramento has rolled out a series of changes aimed at boosting turnout — which, combined with voter-galvanizing animus toward Donald Trump, is likely pushing us to a record-setting year.

Similarly, the California Democratic Party allows a deeper pool to help choose the Democratic presidential nominee by bringing in no-party-preference voters. That bloc of 5.3 million unaffiliated voters — who outnumber Republicans and tend to lean more left than right despite rejecting the Democratic Party — is tantalizing to presidential candidates who see California as vital to their prospects.

But Sen. Bernie Sanders cast that system as a potential source of disenfranchisement during a Friday appearance in Santa Ana. Given the requirement that unaffiliated voters request a special primary ballot, Sanders warned that the voting rules “risk locking out millions of young people” and “people of color” — subgroups, along with NPPs, that Team Sanders has courted. Sanders calls the prospect “very, very wrong.” Read Carla on Sanders’ cautionary address here .

NPP POLL POSITION: The margins differed substantially, but a pair of polls last week affirmed Sanders’ frontrunner status here. What about those millions of voters without a party? Monmouth University found “other” likely Democratic primary voters prefer Sanders, and the Vermont senator actually performed a few points better there than with Democrats; so did megadonor Tom Steyer. That’s the inverse of former Veep Joe Biden, who was much stronger among the party faithful than the unaffiliated.

BUENOS DIAS, good Monday morning. Nevada’s demographics look a lot more like California’s than New Hampshire or Iowa’s do, so Saturday’s caucus results could presage what’s coming. A key difference: the absence in Nevada of primary-crashing former NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who’s skipping the first four but going hard for the Golden State.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I hope we find out the full extent of who was involved and who knew about it.” 2018 Democratic House candidate Bryan Caforio after the FBI arrested a man linked to former Rep. Katie Hill’s campaign for hacking.

TWEET OF THE DAY: Rep. @TedLieu spent Sunday morning reassuring jittery Dems: “There are anecdotes. There is conventional wisdom. And then there is the actual voter data, which shows Bernie Sanders currently is the strongest Dem candidate against Trump in the critical swing states of WI, MI & PA.”

WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.

TOP TALKERS

MORE CA-25 DRAMA — “FBI arrests man linked to Katie Hill for allegedly hacking opponent's campaign,” by POLITICO’s Jeremy B. White: “A criminal complaint charges Arthur Jan Dam with staging a series of cyberattacks in the runup to the primary that crippled the victim’s website, including just before a debate, depriving the campaign of resources ahead of a loss to Hill. And it reveals that Dam’s wife worked for Hill’s campaign.

“While the FBI does not name the victim, former Democratic candidate Bryan Caforio said in an interview that ‘to the best of my knowledge I am‘ the victim named in charging documents, saying he had been cooperating with federal authorities. … Caforio said it was ‘very disheartening to see this came from a close campaign associate of Katie Hill.’”

CORONAVIRUS CLASH — “‘Why here?’ Costa Mesa, OC officials question feds’ plan for coronavirus quarantine site,” by the OC Register’s Alicia Robinson: “Criticizing what one official called ‘a tremendous breakdown in communication,’ Orange County local, state and federal elected leaders expressed their concern and frustration about the suggestion that coronavirus patients be quarantined at the Fairview Developmental Center in Costa Mesa...On Friday, the city got a federal judge to block any patients from being moved at least until a Monday court hearing.”

DAY IN THE LIFE — “Horror, fatigue and constant calls: 24 hours with skid row’s firefighters,” by the LA Times’ Benjamin Oreskes: “With residents who are often victims of crime, crippled by addiction and psychiatric disorders from years of living on the street, the firefighters do the best they can with the little they have to offer. Yet the needs are overwhelming.”

— “Oakland rapper Kafani accused of leading multimillion dollar fraud ring across California,” by The Mercury News’ Nate Gartrell.

— “Daredevil ‘Mad Mike’ Hughes killed in rocket crash captured on video,” by the LA Times’ David Zahniser.

THE TRUMP ERA

— “California hits back at HHS over Trump defunding threat over abortion coverage,” by POLITICO’s Victoria Colliver and Dan Diamond: “In a letter to the civil-rights office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Newsom and Becerra accuse the administration of improperly threatening state health funding used to support crucial programs, including emergency preparedness, infectious disease prevention and child welfare programs.”

JUDGMENT — “Trump has flipped the 9th Circuit — and some new judges are causing a ‘shock wave,’” by the LA Times’ Maura Dolan: “Because of Trump’s success in filling vacancies, the San Francisco-based circuit, long dominated by Democratic appointees, has suddenly shifted to the right, with an even more pronounced tilt expected in the years ahead.”

NUNES SAGA — “Court dumps Nunes' suit against Trump dossier firm,” by POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein: “The California GOP lawmaker claimed that he was a victim of ‘active, coordinated and ongoing corruption, fraud and obstruction of justice’ by (Fusion GPS) that stemmed from his efforts to investigate the firm's role in stoking suspicions about Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's ties to Russia during the 2016 campaign.”

— “Trump administration reverses itself, will pay California for Oroville Dam fixes,” by the Sac Bee’s Dale Kasler: “Last March, FEMA said it wouldn’t pay for problems lurking at America’s tallest dam before the crisis erupted in 2017.”

— CALIFORNIA’S RICHARD GRENELL, tapped Friday as Trump’s national intelligence chief, was once a big Trump critic, via POLITICO’s Natasha Bertrand.

PRESIDENTIAL PURSUIT

— “Bay Area boosts Biden and Buttigieg Super PACs; Sanders leads California fundraising,” by the Merc’s Casey Tolan: “Sen. Bernie Sanders continued to lead his presidential rivals in donations from Californians last month as he raked in more than $25 million in contributions from around the country.”

BERNIE’S RESISTANCE — “Democrats try to blunt strong California showing for Sanders,” by The AP’s Kathleen Ronanyne: “The attention reflects a growing concern among Sanders’ rivals that if he performs well enough in the state, with its 415 delegates at stake on Super Tuesday, March 3, that he could build a delegate lead that is difficult to catch.”

— “Latino voters seem fond of ‘Tio Bernie.’ Big-name Latino politicians, not so much,” by the LA Times’ Gustavo Arellano.

— "‘Please disregard, vote for Bernie’: Inside Bloomberg’s paid social media army," by the LATimes' Suhauna Hussain: "A vocal Bernie Sanders supporter. A Chicagoan with zero followers on Twitter. A dozen registered Republicans. These are some of the digital soldiers Michael R. Bloomberg’s presidential campaign has recruited in California to boost the former New York mayor’s online profile."

SF CHRON’S CHOICE — “Chronicle recommends Amy Klobuchar in the Democratic primary,” by the SF Chronicle’s Editorial Board: “She is seasoned (13 years in the U.S. Senate, lead Democratic sponsor on more than 100 passed bills) with a history of winning Republican strongholds and solid on the party’s baseline issues while pragmatic enough to avoid the promises (free four-year college regardless of income, erasing all college debt) that are easy to make and impossible to fulfill.”

UC BERKELEY’S OWN— “The Liberal Economists Behind the Wealth Tax Debate,” by NYT’s Jim Tankersley and Ben Casselman: Gabriel Zucman and Emmanuel Saez’s “efforts documenting a sharp increase in the concentration of wealth at the very top and their outspokenness have vaulted the tax from a fringe idea in American politics to the center of a reinvigorated debate on taxing the rich.”

BACK ON STAGE — “Steyer will return to debate stage in South Carolina,” by POLITICO’s Zach Montellaro.

— “Steyer pours money into black organizations ahead of primaries,” by POLITICO’s Maya King: “Hidden amid millions of dollars spent on TV ads and mailers in Steyer’s latest campaign finance report are donations totaling more than $60,000 to black organizations and institutions across the country.”

CAMPAIGN MODE

DEMS CA-25 HIT: The DCCC is firing a shot in the open CA-25 race with a new television spot slamming Navy veteran and GOP candidate Mike Garcia for unpaid taxes. This is the national Democratic arm’s first attack ad in a race where it’s likely only one Republican makes it to a runoff — and you can bet the DCCC remembers that Garcia’s rival, former GOP Rep. Steve Knight, lost the seat decisively in 2018.

UNION TROUBLES: Meanwhile, in the same district, Democrat and Young Turks founder Cenk Uygur, who’s running against Democratic Assemblywoman Christy Smith, is facing labor pushback as the media group’s production and post-production crews announced on Twitter that it intended to organize and join the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. On Saturday, @IATSE, in a tweet, reported that Young Turks has “refused” that recognition, calling it “a disappointing decision from an organization that presents itself as progressive.”

MAYES MONEY — “Interest groups stepping up to defend GOP defector Chad Mayes,” by POLITICO’s Jeremy B. White: “They have collectively invested about $470,000 into boosting Mayes and $100,000 against (party-backed challenger Andrew) Kotyuk as the March primary approaches. Mayes has pointed to his consistently conservative votes and argued he should be judged on that record rather than his partisan affiliation.” (Pro link)

AOC BUMP: San Diego City Councilwoman Georgette Gómez polished her progressive cred as she seeks the solidly blue CA-53 seat with an endorsement from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Courage to Change PAC, which is cultivating AOC-like candidates around the country.

SHENANIGANS — “Realtors blasted for elevating Steve Fox,” by POLITICO Pro’s Jeremy B. White.

CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR

CARRYING THE TORCH — “California lawmakers to consider statewide universal basic income,” by POLITICO’s Alexander Nieves: “The longshot proposal comes from Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell), the Silicon Valley lawmaker who served as the national co-chair for businessman [Andrew] Yang’s upstart campaign.” (Pro link)

DROUGHT WATCH — “Dry February sends California back to drought: 'This hasn't happened in 150 years,'” by The Guardian’s Susie Cagle: “Combined with warmer than average temperatures, the state is parched, and there is no moisture in the forecasts.”

— “Teachers notice rise in homelessness among kids,” by Kate Cimini for CalMatters: “Homelessness among students is the highest it has ever been, according to a national report released last month. But advocates say that one major reason for the increase is that teachers and other school officials are more aware and better prepared to identify homeless kids.”

SCOCA SAYS — “If accidental fire damages someone else’s trees, owner escapes responsibility,” by the SF Chronicle’s Bob Egelko.

OAKLAND PD PROBLEMS — “A timeline of chaos: Oakland police chief’s firing the latest embarrassment two decades after ‘Riders’ scandal,” by the SF Chronicle’s Alejandro Serrano and Steve Rubenstein: “The surprise firing Thursday of Oakland Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick — the city’s 11th chief in the past 21 years — was just the latest trouble for a department that has struggled to reform itself nearly two decades after The Riders scandal, in which a group of officers allegedly assaulted and falsely arrested residents in the city’s poorest neighborhoods.”

— “Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf tells new police officers 'leaders will come and go' after chief's firing,” by the SF Chronicle’s Sarah Ravani.

CORONAVIRUS UPDATES

— “Coronavirus risk in Sacramento County low as first case of illness reported,” by the Sac Bee’s Cathie Anderdson and Theodora Yu: “Sacramento County reported Friday that a local resident who had visited China tested positive for novel coronavirus, the first case in the Sacramento region and the 14th in the United States. A day earlier, a case was announced in rural Humboldt County.”

— “California tells 7K people to stay home because of new virus,” by the AP’s Olga R. Rodriguez.

— “Verizon latest sponsor to bow out of RSA Conference in SF amid coronavirus fears,” by the SF Chronicle’s Chase DiFeliciantonio: “Verizon on Friday became the third large company to pull its sponsorship from the RSA Conference, a cybersecurity industry event, over coronavirus concerns.”

— “‘Such a debacle’: Bay Area cruise evacuee questions coronavirus procedures,” by the SF Chronicle’s Mallory Moench.

SILICON VALLEYLAND

— “She wanted a 'freebirth' with no doctors. Online groups convinced her it would be OK,” by NBC’s Brandy Zadrozny: “For Judith — newly married and living far from family and most of her friends — the online birth community stepped in to fill the gap. And she veered toward the wildest, the most radical content, seeking out those who would validate her choices.”

— “Why the new elites of Silicon Valley are lawyering up to protect their wealth,” by Protocol’s Kelsey McKinney.

CANNABIS COUNTRY

— “Vape crisis forced cannabis sector to increase focus on technology, testing and transparency,” by Marijuana Business Daily’s Omar Sacirbey: “The marijuana industry has seemingly emerged from the situation relatively unscathed – in fact, vape sales are climbing again – but businesses could stand to learn from the experience.”

HOLLYWOODLAND

— “Why Is Hollywood Making Such a Strong Push Into the U.K.?” by The Hollywood Reporter’s Scott Roxborough and Alex Ritman: “[A] trio of new deals represents a vote of confidence in the British market but, some industry players fear, also could signal potentially dangerous ambition on the part of the agencies.”

— “B. Smith, restaurateur and cookbook author, has died,” by CNN’s Dakin Andone and Steve Forrest.

MIXTAPE

— “Kobe Bryant Helicopter Pilot Previously Violated Weather-Related Flight Rules – Report,” by Deadline’s Bruce Haring.

— “California couple who vanished for nearly a week found alive,” via The AP.

— “U.S. Women’s Soccer Team Sets Price for Ending Lawsuit: $67 Million,” by the NYTimes’ Andrew Das.

— “Judge orders Sacramento sheriff to ‘unban’ 2 black activists from his Facebook page,” by the Sac Bee’s Sam Stanton.

— “Bear Tranquilized, Removed After Morning Stroll Through Monrovia Neighborhood,” by KTLA’s Anthony Kurzweil, Lynette Romero and Christina Pascuci.

— “In L.A., Kobe Dominates the Paint,” by the NYT’s Walter Thompson-Hernández.

— “Block by block: The greatest SF movie car chases,” by the SF Chronicle’s Peter Hartlaub.

TRANSITIONS

Enxhi Myslymi is joining the Milken Institute as associate director for media relations. She previously was a director of strategic communications at U.S. News & World Report.

BIRTHDAYS

Howard Bragman is 64… Christina Cameron, media adviser for Rep. Kevin McCarthy, turns 25.

BELATEDLY, SUNDAY: Frank Luntz turned 58 ... Michael Dell is 55 ... Marissa Mitrovich, VP of federal legislative affairs at Frontier Communications … Nicole Sexton, president and CEO of the Entertainment Industry Foundation ... Lorin Meeks-Harris … Edward Webster … Matt Manning

SATURDAY: John Gibson, VP of external and multicultural affairs at the Motion Picture Association … Rachel Whetstone, chief communications officer at Netflix … Viet Dinh, chief legal and policy officer for Fox, is 52 ... Becky Beland McNaught, COS to Jennifer Siebel Newsom …Elizabeth Oblinger, manager of government relations at eBay ... Hugh Hewitt is 64 … Peter Hanna … Kimberly Marteau Emerson ...

CALIFORNIA POLICY IS ALWAYS CHANGING: Know your next move. From Sacramento to Silicon Valley, POLITICO California Pro provides policy professionals with the in-depth reporting and tools they need to get ahead of policy trends and political developments shaping the Golden State. To learn more about the exclusive insight and analysis this subscriber-only service offers, click here.

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