Republican Groups File Suit Against California Governor, Claiming His Vote-By-Mail Executive Order is Unlawful

(Worthy News) – Republican groups filed a lawsuit against California Governor Gavin Newsom Sunday, challenging his executive order that all state registered voters can vote by mail in November’s General Election, CBS news reports. The Republican National Party, the National Republican Congressional Committee and the California Republican Party launched the case in the District Court for Eastern California, claiming that Newsom’s order was issued in “a direct usurpation of the legislature’s authority.”

Issued on May 8, the order requires each county’s elections officials to send all registered voters a send vote-by-mail ballot for the November 3, 2020, General Election. According to Newsom’s official website, the order was made “recognizing the threat COVID-19 continues to pose to public health.”

However, in their lawsuit, the Republican groups claim the order is “less about protecting the health of Californians and more about protecting the electoral prospects of the Governor’s political party,” CBS News reports. The plaintiffs’ complaint reads: “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.”

The lawsuit argues that, under the US Constitution, “the power to set the time, place and manner of holding elections for Congress and the President” is given to “state legislatures.” The plaintiffs contend that state executive officers, including Governor Newsom, “have no authority to unilaterally exercise that power.”

Voting by mail is already legal in California, although the electorate must apply to be able to do so. Under the new executive order, all voters can automatically cast a ballot by mail without having to apply.

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