Issa Lawsuit Lays Groundwork for Challenging November Election
Former Congressman Darrell Issa, who is now running for a House of Representatives seat in a new and different district, has joined the chorus of Republicans loyal to President Trump seeking to diminish voter turnout in the 2020 General Election.
Issa is the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit seeking to block Governor Gavin Newsom’s order requiring all registered voters to receive absentee ballots. Among Issa’s --once known as the richest man in congress-- complaints is that the order will increase the cost of his candidacy in the 50th Congressional District.
From Politico:
The complaint argues that Newsom’s order violates elections provisions of the Constitution and represents an “unlawful attempt to supersede and replace California election law” by creating “an entirely new system” that does not conform with an existing state law, the Voter’s Choice Act, which lays out requirements for counties that wish to mail ballots to all voters.
It warns that election results could be invalidated, specifically citing the 50th District contest in which Issa is the Republican nominee. And the complaint charges that Newsom’s order has scrambled Issa’s campaign by compelling him to “reevaluate his electoral strategy” and increasing the cost of running a campaign.
Issa “registered to run for office based under the electoral system established by the California Legislature,” the complaint says. “Now, he must develop a new strategy.”
I don’t think Issa’s too worried about the race for the (very red) 50th Congressional District and his participation in this effort is really about showing he’s a team player.
Conservative activists with Judicial Watch filed the case for Issa and three other people. Courts have dismissed the vast majority of its lawsuits, mostly filed to lend credence to assorted conspiracy theories..
Judicial Watch has described climate science as "fraud science" and has filed lawsuits against government climate scientists. Among their numerous false and unsubstantiated claims picked up by right-wing news outlets are accusations about Vince Foster being murdered by the Clintons, claims of ISIS terrorist camps in Mexico, and asserting that a migrant caravan traveling through Central America towards the United States was being directed or funded by the "Soros-occupied State Department".
The suit claims Gov. Newsom does not have authority to order statewide mail in ballots and warns that the results of the 2020 election in California will be subject to post-election intervention under the Ninth Circuit’s “fundamental fairness” doctrine. (It should be noted that, regardless of COVID-19 restrictions, there will be traditional polling places available.)
It also asserts that registered voters risk their votes being diluted by the Executive Order.
From Courthouse News:
A record 9.6 million people voted in the March primary, including 72% by mail. According to state officials, 13 of 15 counties that sent every registered voter a ballot in the mail exceeded the statewide turnout and 75% of voters received a ballot in the mail.
Secretary of State Padilla, who is also named in the lawsuit, ripped Issa and Judicial Watch and accused them of manipulating the public health emergency.
“Exploiting the Covid-19 pandemic to justify voter suppression is despicable, even for Judicial Watch’s pathetically low standards. It’s un-American, immoral, and a threat to the health of every Californian,” Padilla said in a statement.
This lawsuit fits right in with desperate strategies being undertaken by Republicans to skew the 2020 general election in their favor.
A surprise defeat for a GOP-backed Supreme Court judge in Wisconsin caused by coronavirus fear driven increased vote-by-mail participation has political operatives looking past traditional tactics like voter purges and id card requirements.
President Donald Trump has been on the warpath lately, criticizing mail balloting for undermining Republicans and inviting fraud, along with personal insults aimed at state officials working to make ballot box access more available.
The chief executive has frequently insinuated without evidence that California elections have been skewed by improper vote-counting.
The Republican Party, now freed from a series (1982, 1986, 1990, & 2004) of court orders based on past voter suppression efforts, has announced an effort to recruit 50,000 “poll watchers” nationwide as part of an aggressive national effort to shape who gets to vote in November — and whose ballots are counted.
Democratic leaders say the focus on monitors and repeated allegations of fraud by Republicans are part of a coordinated strategy to depress turnout, especially by minorities.
Among other things, Democrats cite Mr. Trump’s repeated demands that law enforcement officers patrol the polls and the recent creation of voter-fraud task forces by Republicans in four state governments, at least in part at the national party’s urging.
They also point to a meeting in February attended by conservative political luminaries and at least one national Republican Party official, sponsored by the Center for National Policy, a group of conservative power brokers. The topic was voter fraud and “ballot security” operations, particularly in inner cities and areas with Native American populations, according to The Intercept, which published excerpts from a recording of the meeting.
One group represented at that meeting, Texas-based True the Vote, is recruiting military veterans to become poll monitors. The group, an offshoot of a Houston Tea Party branch, was scrutinized by local prosecutors after its first poll-monitoring effort in 2012 sparked complaints of voter intimidation.
Faced with a poorly performing economy and bereft of any real ideas beyond cutting taxes for corporations or slashing services used by the people, it’s understandable that Republicans are going all-in on these schemes. But as Wisconsin demonstrated, these sorts of things can blow up in the face of the people pushing it.
Here’s Paul Walderman at the Washington Post:
The more attention is given to GOP voter suppression efforts, the more voter suppression itself becomes a campaign issue, one that can boost turnout among Democrats. However you might feel about Joe Biden, it becomes more important to exercise your right to vote if you think someone is trying to take it away.
Which suggests that as important as legal efforts and grass-roots organizing are for Democrats to push back on the GOP’s well-funded campaign of suppression and intimidation, the best weapons may be public attention and outrage.
Democrats may not be able to repeat the experience of Wisconsin, which was the only election taking place at the time and presented a unique set of circumstances with the conflict between the governor and legislature, culminating in the Supreme Court case. But they can draw as much attention as possible to what Republicans are trying to do. It’s something Democratic voters — and frankly, anyone who cares about democratic rights — should be angry about. Even angry enough to wait in line to cast a ballot.
This..
https://twitter.com/scottlay/status/1263864855787786240?s=20
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