Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Judicial Watch are suing California over its controversial practice of allowing mail-in ballots to be counted up to a week after Election Day, saying that it is a biased practice that violates the Constitution.
For the past decade, California has allowed late ballots to be counted, as long as they are postmarked by Election Day, in the name of protecting voter rights. The result is that many elections in which one candidate appears to be leading on Election Night are reversed over subsequent weeks — usually in favor of Democrats, who have pioneered the use of ballot harvesting in their get-out-the-vote efforts.
The complaint, filed by Judicial Watch on Issa’s behalf as plaintiff on March 13, names California Secretary of State Shirley Weber as the defendant, and says, in part: “Despite Congress’ unambiguous and longstanding statement regarding a single and uniform national Election Day, California modified and extended Election Day by allowing seven additional days after Election Day for receipt of vote-by-mail ballots (‘VBM ballots’).”
It adds that “late-arriving [vote by mail] ballots tend to favor Democratic candidates and provide an unfair electoral advantage for opponents of Republican congressional incumbents.”
In a similar case in Louisiana last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit struck down a state law that allowed ballots to be accepted five days after Election Day, though the ruling did not affect the 2024 election.
“I will vigorously defend California’s common sense election laws and safeguard every voter’s right to have their ballot counted,” said Weber, in a statement quoted by the San Diego Union-Tribune.
“I am grateful to have Judicial Watch’s support in this important lawsuit,” Rep. Issa said, in a statement released by the organization. “California voters need all the help they can get to ensure fair elections.”
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
