Swalwell Wants Californians Voting by Phone in 2026 Race
“If we can do our taxes….make our health care appointments… essentially… do your banking online, you should be able to vote by phone.”
Rep. Eric Swalwell has officially launched his campaign for governor of California, and in classic Swalwell fashion, he immediately stepped on a rake. While most candidates roll out their campaigns talking about crime, affordability, education, or the mass exodus out of California, Swalwell decided the urgent issue facing the state is… letting people vote by phone.
🚨 SWALWELL: “I want us to be able to vote by phone … I want us to max out democracy.” pic.twitter.com/74cVtwYDi8
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) November 22, 2025
Yes, he wants Californians to pick their leaders the same way America chose winners on American Idol.
In his newest pitch to “modernize democracy,” Swalwell declared:
“I want us to be able to vote by phone. I think every Californian… by phone, by phone, yeah, if we can do our taxes, do our… healthcare appointments… do your banking online, you should be able to vote by phone.”
This is what he believes the gubernatorial race is about: not affordability, not crime, not the homeless crisis, not the cost of living, not failing schools. No. Phone voting.
He kept going:
“Make it safe, make it secure. But it’s actually already happening all over the United States. I want us to be a blue state that doesn’t do just a little bit better than like Georgia or Alabama… I want us to max out democracy.”
Swalwell, who announced his campaign on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, because of course he did, is pitching this as proof of forward-thinking leadership. But conservatives (and anyone who has ever used a phone, really) know exactly why this is a terrible idea.
Phone voting is unverifiable, insecure, vulnerable to hacking, spoofing, coercion, malware, SIM swaps, mass-scale fraud, and there is no way to create a chain of custody or guarantee that the person holding the phone is the person casting the vote. Elections cannot operate like a customer-service hotline menu. You don’t “Press 1 for Governor, Press 2 for Lieutenant Governor.” Voting is not a popularity contest and not a texting poll for your favorite singer. It is the most serious civic act in a constitutional republic.
But Swalwell wasn’t done. He floated another idea, apparently intended to revolutionize Election Day:
“If you wait in line for 30 minutes or more… I think you should fine every county for every minute that a person has to wait longer.”
Under his plan, counties would essentially pay a late fee because people choose to vote in person. Even the DMV couldn’t escape his futuristic dreams:
“I don’t think Californians should have to go in person to the DMV anymore… We can modernize the state.”
Meanwhile, NBC News notes that Swalwell insists he is running because Californians are scared of high costs and instability, something he says he’ll solve while simultaneously turning the state’s elections into a tele-voting experiment.
“I’m running for Governor because prices are too high and people are scared… A lot of candidates talk about taking on Trump. I’m taking him on in real time.”
Yet instead of addressing the issues that actually drive Californians out of the state, Swalwell seems convinced the future of democracy hinges on voting the same way people order DoorDash.
If this is how his campaign starts, with phone-in elections, Californians may decide Swalwell isn’t preparing to lead the state; he’s rehearsing a reality-TV gimmick. And if this is his big idea, his run for governor may be over before it starts.
FULL TRANSCRIPT:
“I want us to be able to vote by phone. I think every California… by phone, by phone, yeah, if we can do our taxes, do our, you know, our, make our health care appointments, you know, make, essentially, your, do your banking online, you should be able to vote by phone. Make it safe, make it secure. But it’s actually already happening all over the United States. I want us to be a blue state that doesn’t do just a little bit better than, like, Georgia or Alabama when it comes to like voting access. I want us to max out democracy.
Also, as it relates to democracy, if you wait in line for 30 minutes or more, if you do want to vote in person, I think you should fine every county for every minute that a person has to wait longer. We have to be better, not just a little bit better than the other states, the DMV. I don’t think Californians should have to go in person to the DMV anymore. I think we can do that virtually. I think you.. You can have the DMV employees do it virtually, but that’s a lot of real estate. Is that the most popular position we can modernize the state? And I look forward to, you know, bringing these ideas to Californians.”
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Comments
More fraud, more fraud, more fraud. I have to hand it to the Democrats, they’re very skilled at coming up with new ways to defeat election integrity.
The only way that Fang Fang Banger is going to be governor of California is by massive fraud. Of course he is encouraging it. Next up is demanding the voting age be lowered to 16 and illegals being able to vote in statewide elections.
16? How about 12? And, since what the United States does can affect almost everyone else on Earth, they should all be classified as “stakeholders” and given a vote, right? Even from the fatuous Swalwell this proposal for phone voting is particularly stupid.
No. If voting is so important, the voter will find their way to a ballot box between 9 am and 9 pm on the appointed day. One day, one vote.
Racist!!!!
Let’s all go get phone service from am MVNO that lets you designate an area code. Pick a California one, then register….
better not. That would be wrong. That would be… Voter fraud!
If you can’t figure out how to have an ID how can you figure out a phone?
“Where’s the eleven?!!”
Swalwell obviously wants to disenfranchise those persons who can’t afford a phone (or who are too stupid to use one).
Since the government tissue is free phones, nobody has an excuse.
What I would like to see, seriously, is anyone with the government funded telephone is disfranchised.
In fact, if I go into the AT&T store regarding my phone, I have to show my ID..so there’s that.
Not so much at Walmart.
@rebelgirl– I came here to say the same thing. I was at the ATT store last week to replace/upgrade a phone (against my better judgement) and had to show ID. The claim that requiring ID suppresses voting is just a smokescreen to enable fraud.
Where do you go to get an Obamaphone upgraded?
D-Mobile?
D for deadbeat.
I honestly don’t have a problem with early voting (and have used it). It’s nice not to have to wait in line for hours after work… but then I live in Florida, which has secured its election system pretty well. Voting by mail or phone or internet or carrier pigeon? No. Hell no. In person unless you have a disability and can’t get to the polls.
Sure is strange that America muddled along for over 200 yrs by having to actually show up and vote but suddenly people can’t take an hour or two to get it done.
Starting a Go Fund me campaign to send this vile human being to Red China. Donate today!
‘Better than Alabama’…hmmm it isn’t hard to vote in Alabama. All you gotta do is show up in person with ID to register at the County Registrar or DMV then show up on election day, in person at your assigned voting location, show proof you are who you say you are, get checked in, then go cast your ballot, go home. Very simple, straightforward, transparent and secure. No mass mail ballots, very strict absentee ballots limited as a practical matter to overseas/military and medical emergencies, shut ins. The latter two have extra steps; appoint a courier from spouse/adult child/Parent/adult sibling by notarized letter accompanied by notarized letter from Physician describing why/attesting to inability to vote in person, the ID of the voter and ID of the courier. The courier takes all that to the County Clerk to get an absentee ballot, must return in person by the same courier NLT noon on election day.
But but…!
(Seriously, that is how it should be done.)
Or send in the federal generic voter registration card, which states are required by federal law to accept, and which doesn’t ask for any proof of citizenship. That bypasses any safeguards the state has in place.
Not quite. The Federal registration remains subject to State requirements for cut off time lines.. In Alabama that’s 15 days prior to election day to BE a registered voter for the election. Turning in the application form doesn’t = instant registration. The County Board of Registrars must review and issue approval for the application to ensue any ineligible persons ain’t getting registered.
The options for turning in the Federal registration application are In person at the Clerk OR by mail.
Both options require presentation of ID to verify name, address, age before the application is processed. In person turn in requires handing over valid ID. A photocopy of ID can be used only if mailed though if it has ‘not for federal purposes’ instead of a Star then maybe it is not so eligible, at minimum there’s an unresolved question about citizenship status.
In addition a first-time registration in each jurisdiction requires presentation of ID at check in in the polling place. That will confirm the address is correct and the identity of the individual before a ballot is issued.
Frankly If I was Secretary of State for Alabama we’d issue simple guidance; no Star ID means exactly what is says ‘not for federal purposes’ and apply that to elections. Make the d/prog sue and argue in court that Star ID requirement for TSA or entry to a Federal Facility, like the Courthouse they are arguing in, is Totes Fine but somehow not applicable for voting.
In any event you won’t get a mass mailed ballot and sure as heck won’t be able to scam/finesse an absentee ballot assuming the requirements are followed.
For being so backward and unsophisticated, we stupid Alabamians seem to have our voter registration business very much in order, don’t we? I’ve been voting mostly in Alabama, absentee in the military and in Tennessee for a few years, and *never* had any kind of problem. Apparently, the process is too much for Californians to navigate.
.
Same in Kansas. I’ve never seen a line at the polling place longer than about five people, and it moves fast enough I barely have time to get out my driver’s license. The process from there is Swalwell-easy: Present driver’s license for beeping on the machine, sign on the line, receive the appropriate paper ballot for my voting district, and go into the marking booth area. Five minutes later, I’m feeding the marked ballot into the scanner with a lockbox under it (in case of recounts) and out the door.
“no Star ID means exactly what is says ‘not for federal purposes’ and apply that to elections.”
Thousands of illiterate Pakistani commercial drivers breathe a sigh of relief.
You can trust your czar to the man who wears the star!
The Federal Dept of Transportation is the ultimate approval authority for CDL and if the card says ‘not for federal purposes’ ….seems really simple and straightforward to me, it can’t be used for ‘federal purposes’ which would include issuing a CDL or for that matter a Commercial Aviation licence.
If we can build a high-speed rail line from San Francisco to LA, we can certainly figure out voting by phone. Oh, wait, what? Um, nevermind!
Yeah we’ll start with the easy stuff first. Show the world how we really know what we’re doing!
Who told Swalwell to start talking about this idea?
What you are seeing here is not just a corrupt politician pushing a stupid idea. This is a Democrat/Chinese apparatchik pushing hard on the Overton Window.
By the time of the midterms, lots of other Democrats will be talking about voting by phone and accusing Republicans of opposing it only so they can disenfranchise more voters.
Just watch.
The quality of politicians on both sides is often questionable, but this guy takes the cake when it comes to stupidity wrapped in total lack of self-awareness. Vote with burner phones. Yes! What’s in the water in California? Guess much the same as in NY.
I’ll be damned if the sanctity of voting hasn’t been as diluted as flying the flag at half-mast.
To Vote for Eric Swallwell call:
1-900-FAR-TMAN
Vote early, vote often.
When he fails, can the headline read “Swalwell campaign runs out of gas! Voters refuse to bite” ?
That sounds like a headline the New York Post would run.
The founders of the American republic well understood that democracies almost always fail. They constitute a form of mob rule, and mobs are dangerous, emotional and irrational. As such the founders wisely limited the franchise, and built in anti-majoritarian policies. We don’t want to make voting easy. If you have to work for something, you take it more seriously. Swalwell and most of his fellow Democrats want some form of mob rule because they know mobs are stupid want something for nothing. It’s easier to vote yourself benefits than work.
Unfortunately for him, Swalwell has jumped the shark with this telephone voting idea because most everyone knows it would cause massive cheating. Look at all telephone scams that some people fall for.
Swalwell was my rep when I lived in California, and I attended many of this constituent meetings. Most of his voters love him. His meetings are mobbed with fans. Such is the state of modern California. They have to hope the Democrats will return to power so CA can get a federal bailout.
Utterly insane.
They can’t even stop 10 scam calls a day from calling your phone and they think they will convince people its secure to vote by phone?
They won’t convince anyone but there are plenty of people who will fall into line and start demanding it anyway.
Personally I believe anyone who commits even one act of election fraud should be locked up for life without parole.
Please tell me what besides being murdered is more injurious that having your liberty taken from you?
Who takes my goods steals my past,
Who takes my liberty steals my present.
Who takes my life steals my future.
Why stop there?
We should be able to vote by text!
We should be able to vote on TikTok!
“I don’t think Californians should have to go in person to the DMV anymore…”
Well, I don’t know how other states do it (only how some did it back when I lived in them and none of them ever did this) but in Arizona there are private chains (example) that are entirely in the business of dealing with the DMV so you don’t have to. You drop into their office, get waited on IMMEDIATELY, pay a fee, and they do all the registration work and DMV interface, and get the completed result back to you. They even do licenses, photos and all! It’s the same “service” your car dealer provides for you while you are filling out the sale paperwork, but open to the general public. And they are quite popular. It’s what the DMV could always be if they concentrated serving the customer instead of… whatever it is they concentrate on.
None of the other things he is talking about are expected to be anonymous after the fact. The only valid way to have a secret ballot is if you must show up in person to cast it. Every other way is prone to (planned for) fraud.
If you file your taxes fraudulently they won’t care if you did it on your phone they will still punish you.
Vote by phone?
What a ding-a-ling!
I guess mail-in voting isn’t crooked enough for him?
It still didn’t make Democrats win.
Modern tools make non-cheating easy but at the expense of anonymity of the vote.
If you try to vote and find out that you’ve already voted, it’s easy to prove you’re you and cancel the bogus vote you didn’t make yourself, since it stays tagged.
A certain large percentage of potential voters don’t vote, that number between actual and potential voters is up for any fraud they can put up.
It is totally worth it to de-anonymize the metadata as long as the data itself remains anonymous. Who you voted for should be private, but the mere fact that you voted — any yutz stationed outside a polling station has been able to determine that since forever.
Vote by phone is being tried in Anchorage, Alaska.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/us/politics/alaska-phone-voting-anchorage.html
I am totally against anything other than in person voting.
AOC suggested this for presidential elections. She said the phones could be wired directly to the electrical college.
The dim light bulb is even dimmer now. Fang Fang wouldn’t recognize him now.
I didn’t think it was possible but Swalwell managed to out stupid himself.
Marxists don’t expect what they claim, they do know the vote fraud will be 10x what they want.
Remember a man was jailed for years suggesting Hildabeast could be voted in this way.
I am an Electrical Engineer, that worked most of my life in Telecom, and now retired. All cell numbers are tied to allow them to be monitored, I believe all cell phones are not safe and any text can be modified.
Remember this?
Biden Regime Even Wanted to Censor PRIVATE Text Messages
Good times!
Did FANG FANG’s handlers have her text Swalwell the idea??