Republican Party Sues California Over Mail-In Voting

RNC wants to block Gov. Gavin Newsom's plan
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted May 25, 2020 1:59 AM CDT
Republican Party Sues California Over Mail-In Voting
In this March 12, 2020, file photo, California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to reporters about his executive order advising that non-essential gatherings of more than 250 people should be canceled until at least the end of March, during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif.   (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

The Republican National Committee is not OK with California's plan to send every resident a mail-in ballot for the November election and is now suing over what it calls an "illegal power grab" by the governor. The RNC, along with the National Republican Congressional Committee and the California Republican Party, filed a lawsuit over the executive order Gov. Gavin Newsom issued on the matter, which made his state the first to commit to such a move for the November election amid coronavirus concerns. The suit argues that Newsom overstepped because he failed to get the state legislature's consent, Politico reports.

"In a direct usurpation of the legislature's authority, Governor Newsom issued an executive order purporting to rewrite the entire election code for the November 2020 election cycle," says the complaint, per Fox News. "This brazen power grab was not authorized by state law and violates both the Elections Clause and Electors Clause of the US Constitution." The suit argues that by sending ballots to all registered voters, including inactive ones, Newsom is inviting voter fraud. Former Rep. Darrell Issa is also suing over Newsom's order. Republicans across the country are pushing back against efforts to expand remote balloting amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and President Trump has made his thoughts on the matter quite clear. (More Election 2020 stories.)

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