On Friday in San Diego, US District Court Judge Andrew Schopler issued an order allowing me, Curtis Morrison, and three pro-voter interest groups to intervene as co-defendants in Issa v Weber, a lawsuit Rep. Darrell Issa (CA-48) filed in March to stop California from counting ballots postmarked on or before election day that don’t arrive by election day. The three interest groups are Vet Voice, CARA, and the League of Women Voters California.
Under California law, absentee ballots are counted if received within seven days of the election, and Issa doesn’t like that. In his complaint, Issa alleges that his former colleague in Congress, Rep. Michelle Steel, lost her election due to absentee ballots arriving after election day. He fears the same could happen to him.
Two interesting takeaways from the hearing:
1) Intervenors may not have been allowed to intervene as a matter of right if it wasn’t for Trump’s issuance of an Executive Order threatening to pull funding from states that allowed for the counting of votes received after the election. Judge Schopler recognized and agreed with the argument made by intervenors Vet Voice and CARA that Trump’s order could put the defendant, CA Secretary of State Shirley Weber in a position where she may not be able to adequately represent the interests of the intervenors.
2) Issa’s Judicial Watch attorney Eric Lee had argued in a court filing as well as in oral arguments that it was speculative whether I had an interest in the lawsuit as a candidate, because the lawsuit concerns the general election and it is speculative whether I would survive as one of the top two vote getters in the June 2025 primary to advance to the general election. Judge Schoper noted that concern is also true of Issa himself which could undermine his standing, a point that I made in my reply brief. Thus, Judge Schopler prepared the parties that he needed us to brief whether Issa even has standing to bring the lawsuit.
Judge Schopler ordered that the parties meet and confer and contact the Court with a proposed motion schedule for the anticipated motions to dismiss and preliminary injunction by May 30, 2025.
For more coverage: Times of San Diego: Rep. Darrell Issa’s mail-ballot lawsuit may be thrown out of San Diego federal court
For important Issa v Weber court filings: curtisforcongress.com/...
