The Republican National Committee, along with the National Republican Congressional Committee and the California Republican Party, is suing California Governor Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) over his statewide order to mail ballots to all registered voters, as reported by Reuters.
In a statement announcing the lawsuit, RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said that “Democrats continue to use this pandemic as a ploy to implement their partisan election agenda,” and called Newsom’s order a “direct assault on the integrity of our elections.” The lawsuit calls for the order to be overruled by the courts.
California is the only state thus far that has mandated statewide mail-in voting in response to the coronavirus, although Democrats in Congress and other states have called for similar measures. California is also the only state that has legalized the practice of ballot-harvesting, wherein third parties can go to voters’ homes, retrieve their ballots, and send them in on behalf of the voter. This practice has led to widespread cases of voter fraud throughout the state, particularly in the 2018 midterm elections.