Democrats seek to intervene in GOP challenge to vote by mail

The California Democratic Party has filed motions to intervene in two cases brought by Republicans who want to block Gov. Gavin Newsom's vote-by-mail plan.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is also a party to the motions filed in the two associated federal cases, Republican National Committee v. Newsom, 2:20-cv-01055-MCE-CKD (E.D. Cal., filed May 24, 2020) and Issa v. Newsom, 2:20-cv-01044-MCE-CKD (E.D. Cal., filed May 21, 2020). Their motions are set to be heard in federal court in Sacramento on July 9.

Each of the new motions claims the suits brought by Republicans are a direct attempt to limit Democrats' participation in elections and that the attorney general's office won't adequately protect their interests.

"Plaintiffs allege a slew of claims in an attempt to undermine defendants' effort to protect California voters during an unprecedented public health crisis," reads the motion filed by a team of attorneys with the Washington D.C. and Seattle offices of Perkins Coie LLP, which has a long history of representing Democratic groups. They're led by partner Marc E. Elias, who served as general counsel to the presidential campaigns of Hillary Clinton and John Kerry.

The motions go on to note the "undeniable interest" Attorney General Becerra's office has in defending Newsom's plan, but argued: "Proposed intervenors have a different focus: ensuring that each of their members in California and each voter they represent through their efforts has a meaningful opportunity to cast a ballot. Courts have 'often concluded that governmental entities do not adequately represent the interests of aspiring intervenors.' Fund for Animals, Inc. v. Norton, 322 F.3d 728, 736 (D.C. Cir. 2003)."

Attorneys for the plaintiffs in both cases did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment Thursday. The Republican National Committee is represented by attorneys with Consovoy McCarthy PLLC in Arlington, Virginia, and Dhillon Law Group Inc. in San Francisco. Issa is represented by attorneys with Judicial Watch Inc., a conservative legal advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C.

On May 8, Newsom issued executive order N-64-20, ordering all counties to send vote-by-mail ballots to all registered voters in their area. It stated it was designed to address the potential threat COVID-19 posed to the health of voters and the interests in having a fair election. The two lawsuits quickly followed, arguing his plan "invites fraud, coercion, theft, and otherwise illegitimate voting."

"The governor created a system that will violate eligible citizens' right to vote. By ordering that vote-by-mail ballots be automatically sent to every registered voter -- including inactive voters, voters with invalid registrations, voters who have moved, voters who have died, and voters who don't want a ballot -- he has created a recipe for disaster," stated the complaint from the Republican National Committee.

The complaint makes claims under the electors and elections clauses of the U.S. Constitution, as well as the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. It goes on to cite a 2019 settlement between the County of Los Angeles and Judicial Watch Inc., The deal required the county to contact 1.5 million voters about their registration, though it did not specifically force it to remove these voters.

Also on Wednesday, a gym owner challenging Newsom's stay-at-home order filed an amended complaint. Sean Covell was denied a preliminary injunction seeking to block Newsom's order closing gyms on May 22 in Best Supplement Guide LLC v. Newsom, 2:20-cv-00965-JAM-CKD (E.D. Cal., filed May 12, 2020).