If one wanted to assemble a laundry list of things you could do to destroy any confidence the public ever had in the election process, one could hardly do any better than to look to California for a model. The once-Golden State’s elections are already a hot mess, approaching – never mind that, attaining banana republic level.
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Now, they’re about to make things an order of magnitude dumber. California is now recruiting teenagers as young as 16 for poll workers, able to issue ballots, assist voters, and operate election equipment, and more. Here’s the real kicker: These teens don’t even have to be citizens.
Independent journalist Natalie Winters has the details of this stupidity.
Green card holders as young as 16 can check voters off official rosters, distribute ballots, handle election equipment, and help close polling locations. The state admits it does not fully track how many are being used.
They cannot legally vote in an American election. California is recruiting them to help administer one.
Documents reviewed by this publication reveal that California officials are directing public schools to identify teenagers as young as 16 to work inside polling locations during the November 2026 election, including lawful permanent residents who are not United States citizens.
This is already insane; these are kids who cannot vote, but we’re trusting them to help run elections? Teens who aren’t even American citizens? We don’t let these kids buy a bottle of booze, they can’t sign a contract, but California is going to let them help run elections?
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These kids won’t just be standing in the hallway directing voters on which line to stand in, either.
These students are not being enlisted to hand out stickers or direct voters toward the entrance. County election agencies say they may issue ballots, check voters off official rosters, help operate election equipment, assist voters throughout the day, prepare ballots for pickup, and participate in closing polling locations.
In other words, California has made citizenship optional for the people performing frontline election duties.
Did you get that? They can issue ballots. They can check voters off the rosters. They can operate election equipment.
Read More: California Election Security Under Fire After Ballots Found Burned
Banana Republic by Mail: Why We Probably Won’t Know Outcomes of CA’s Crucial Primaries for Days
To call this madness is to indulge in the grossest of understatements. Any why? What possible reason could there be for this? Well, it turns out that this is actually the law in California.
The provision is embedded directly in California law.
Elections Code Section 12302 allows election officials to appoint up to five students per precinct, even when those students lack eligibility to vote. Eligible students may be 16 years old and either American citizens, prospective citizens, or lawful permanent residents.
The law prohibits student workers from tallying votes. It does not limit them to ceremonial or peripheral jobs.
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The law allows them to help operate voting equipment, which, presumably, includes voting machines such as the questionable Dominion voting systems. These kids don’t have to tally ballots. They will, it seems, have access to the actual machines.
It’s small wonder the American populace is losing faith in our nation’s elections. California, though, seems to be breaking new ground. The once-Golden State’s elections have gone from tragedy to farce, and not even the passage of the SAVE America Act will fix all of that state’s self-inflicted stupidity.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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