Tulare County, California

A printing vendor error caused nearly 7,800 voters in Tulare County to receive duplicate vote-by-mail ballots ahead of the Nov. 3 election, prompting confused calls to the registrar's office. ProVote Solutions, the county's longtime ballot printer, accepted responsibility and mailed correction notices instructing voters to destroy extra ballots. A similar mailing error affected 160 confidential voters in Imperial County. Officials say existing safeguards — barcode tracking, signature verification, and duplicate-vote flagging — prevent double counting. The incidents, in a competitive Central Valley congressional district, quickly drew conspiracy claims on social media amid heightened distrust of mail voting fueled by President Trump's unproven fraud allegations and his blocked effort to restrict mail-in ballots.

A 2-year-old boy was accidentally shot in the leg over the weekend at a home in Pixley, a small Tulare County community in California's Central Valley, after an adult in the house was cleaning a firearm, according to the Tulare County Sheriff's Office. Deputies responded to the home shortly before 11:30 a.m. Sunday, administered emergency aid and had the child transported to a hospital; his condition has not been confirmed.

The Sheriff's Office is asking anyone with information to come forward. Federal data cited alongside the report shows that from 2003 to 2021, the CDC recorded 1,262 unintentional firearm deaths among children, with nearly a third of victims under age 5 and about 7% of cases involving a gun being loaded, unloaded, or cleaned at the time.

Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford) faces progressive Democrat Randy Villegas in California's 22nd Congressional District, one of the most closely watched House races in the country and a potential factor in the battle for control of Congress. Valadao has won the Central Valley swing district in six of the last seven elections despite a Democratic voter registration edge, but faces added pressure this cycle after Proposition 50 redistricting slightly increased the district's Democratic lean. He has also drawn criticism for his deciding vote on H.R. 1, a federal policy bill expected to strip healthcare coverage from millions, and for his ties to President Trump.

Villegas, a college professor and school board trustee backed by Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, defeated moderate Democrat Jasmeet Bains in the primary. He rejects corporate PAC money and campaigns on Medicare for All and affordability issues. Valadao holds a larger overall fundraising and cash advantage, though Villegas has out-raised him in recent filing periods. Analysts are split, with Inside Elections rating the seat "tilt Republican" and Sabato's Crystal Ball calling it "leans Democratic."