GOP candidate Darrell Issa sues California governor over vote-by-mail order sparked by virus
Seizing upon President Donald Trump’s recent criticism of states moving to vote-by-mail efforts during the coronavirus pandemic, former Republican Rep. Darrell Issa and four others sued California Gov. Gavin Newsom Thursday over his executive order that all voters receive a mail-in ballot for November’s general election.
The lawsuit, filed by lawyers for the conservative Judicial Watch group in Washington, D.C., alleges that Newsom overstepped his authority with the order and that the governor’s move could lead to questions about the legitimacy of election outcomes and subsequent federal court challenges.
Issa, a San Diego-area Republican campaigning to return to Congress, also argued that the move has forced him to “reevaluate his electoral strategy in order to campaign in the 50th Congressional District.”
“Previously, he registered to run for office based under the electoral system established by the California Legislature,” the suit says. “Now, he must develop a new strategy to reflect that he is no longer running under an electoral system established under California law.”
Newsom signed the executive order May 8 requiring that all voters receive vote-by-mail ballots to assure that fears of being exposed to coronavirus at polling places would not keep people from voting.
“No Californian should be forced to risk their health in order to exercise their right to vote,” he said at the time.
The order does not replace in-person voting for voters, and five California counties — Madera, Napa, Nevada, Sacramento and San Mateo — already offer vote-by-mail balloting either by mailing in ballots or dropping them off at voting centers.
But the governor’s move immediately drew criticism from Republicans and Trump, who has recently criticized mail balloting options in Nevada and Michigan and has railed for years — without evidence — that millions of illegal votes were cast in California in the 2016 election.
The lawsuit contends only the Legislature can make changes in how votes are cast and notes that, under existing law, California counties must opt-in to qualify. The suit also notes that Los Angeles County first conducted all-mail balloting in the March primary election and that the result was “widely panned.”
“Local media reports described it as an example of ‘legitimate incompetence’ while the national media referred to it as a ‘voting fiasco,’” the lawsuit says. “The focus on Los Angeles County’s ‘fiasco’ was necessarily short lived, because the very next day Governor Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency in response to the COVID-19 epidemic.”
Newsom’s office had no immediate comment Thursday.
California Secretary of State Alex Padilla has praised the vote-by-mail order, saying “it’s great for public health.”
Legislators already have backed efforts that would make such vote-by-mail efforts state law, and Newsom said he may issue additional executive orders that clarify how counties can offer in-person and mail-in voting.
This story was originally published May 21, 2020 at 4:51 PM.