Letters were sent electronically to all counties and their Sheriffs in California State putting them on notice that voting machines and elections were “critical infrastructure” as designated by the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security.
On April 1, 2015, by Executive Order 13694, the President declared a national emergency pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States constituted by the increasing prevalence and severity of malicious cyber?enabled activities originating from, or directed by persons located, in whole or in substantial part, outside the United States. On December 28, 2016, the President issued Executive Order 13757 to take additional steps to address the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13694.
In 2017, President Trump declared “a national emergency pursuant to the International Emergency Economics Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy and economy of the United States constituted by the increasing prevalence and severity of malicious cyber-enabled activities originating from, or directed by persons located, in whole or substantial part, outside the United States.” “These significant malicious cyber-enabled activities continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to national security…” therefore in accordance with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)). President Trump reauthorized the act in 2019
On May 30, 2019, President Donald J. Trump announced his intention to use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) (50 U.S.C. §§1701 et seq.) to impose a 5% tariff on all goods imported from Mexico effective June 10, 2019. The tariff, he said, would gradually increase until “the illegal migration crisis is alleviated through effective actions taken by Mexico.” On June 7, 2019, the President stated that the tariffs were “indefinitely suspended” because Mexico had “agreed to take strong measures to … stem the tide of migration.”
Presidents may invoke IEEPA in response to an “unusual and extraordinary threat, which has its source in whole or substantial part outside the United States” when a national emergency has been declared with respect to that threat. Using IEEPA, Presidents may regulate imports. Although no President has used IEEPA to impose tariffs, President Nixon imposed a 10% tariff on all imports into the United States in response to a monetary crisis using IEEPA’s precursor statute, the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917 (TWEA). President Biden continued the national emergency for 1 year beyond April 23, 2023; with Executive Order 13694.
New California State’s letter in part is below: Full PDF Here
“I am a county resident representative of the State of New California, a “We the People” movement for the preservation of the republic guaranteed to citizens by the United States Constitution, Article IV, Section 4; by this letter I am notifying you today that you must first and foremost prioritize protecting our national security during any future elections. It is imperative that we comply with implementation of security measures to protect the sovereign right of each eligible citizen to have authentic outcomes when casting a vote in our elections.
Back in 2017, the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security issued a statement clearly designating elections infrastructure as critical infrastructure. Election infrastructure is critical infrastructure for the obvious reason that elections have a major impact on national security. It’s vital that the State of California complies with that inherent intent from the federal government and works to ensure a system of cybersecurity and oversight is established within every political subdivision. Every component of the election systems used in our County must have safeguards in place to prevent any attacks which threaten our national security.
Secure elections are the protected right for every eligible citizen, and it is incumbent on our representatives to exercise their authority to see that no electronic voting system in the County is used as the primary method for counting, tabulating, or verifying federal elections, unless those systems meet necessary standards of protection. The federal government has made it very clear that election equipment is considered a target by those who want to threaten the safety and security of our country. Electronic voting systems that contain components that are made with parts produced in countries considered adversaries to the United States must never be used as the primary method for conducting our elections in our County, State or Country”.
