Name: Newsom’s plan to mail ballots to all California voters is temporarily blocked by judge
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Newsom’s plan to mail ballots to all California voters is temporarily blocked by judge

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This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateA Sutter County judge granted a request Friday by two GOP legislators to temporarily block an executive order by Gov. Gavin Newsom that would require that all active California voters receive a mail ballot for the November election.The order provoked a fiery response from Secretary of State Alex Padilla, who dismissed the assemblymen’s legal challenge as “a reckless publicity stunt.”The temporary restraining order by Superior Court Judge Perry Parker, which was sought by Assemblymen James Gallagher of Nicolaus (Sutter County) and Kevin Kiley of Rocklin (Placer County), sets a June 26 hearing in Yuba City to determine whether Newsom overstepped his emergency powers making the change in the election rules in May.“This is a victory for separation of powers,” the assemblymen said in a statement. “The governor has continued to brazenly legislate by fiat, without public input and without the deliberative process provided by the Legislature. Today the judicial branch finally gave him the check that was needed and that the Constitution requires.”The court order is aimed at last week that restates his May call for ballots to be sent to all active voters, while also requiring counties to that are open for early voting, as well as ballot drop boxes.More for youNewsom’s came in response to the threat of the coronavirus pandemic and the danger that crowded polling places could pose to voters.The governor plans to challenge the judge’s order, which calls for the state to show why he shouldn’t be stopped from “further exercising any legislative powers in violation of the California Constitution ... specifically from unilaterally amending, altering or changing existing statutory law or making new statutory law.”“We are disappointed in this initial ruling and look forward to the opportunity to brief the court on the issues raised for the June 26 hearing,” said Jessie Melgar, the governor’s press secretary.Padilla’s response was much harsher.The suit is “a continuation of the Republican Party’s plan to throw our democracy into chaos,” he said. “Elections officials face an enormous task of preparing for an accessible, secure and safe presidential election during the COVID-19 pandemic. The potential for uncertainty and delays created by a few legislators seeking to score cheap political points only serves to jeopardize the safety and security of our elections.”About Our NewsroomNewsom’s call for expanding mail ballots, which were used by more than 70% of the voters in the March 3 primary, already faced other GOP-led legal challenges. by the Republican National Committee and the California Republican Party claimed that the move to a virtually all-mail election was a partisan attack by Newsom and the Democrats.While Republicans complain in court that Newsom’s actions are illegal, their political arguments are more direct: More mail ballots can translate into more Democrats and independents voting in November, which could be bad news for the GOP.President Trump, who has regularly recycled in California, has complained that mail voting threatens his re-election, saying in March that “you’d never have a Republican elected in this country again” if Democratic efforts to boost mail ballots succeeded.John Wildermuth is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: Twitter:About Our Newsroom

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateA Sutter County judge granted a request Friday by two GOP legislators to temporarily block an executive order by Gov. Gavin Newsom that would require that all active California voters receive a mail ballot for the November election.The order provoked a fiery response from Secretary of State Alex Padilla, who dismissed the assemblymen’s legal challenge as “a reckless publicity stunt.”The temporary restraining order by Superior Court Judge Perry Parker, which was sought by Assemblymen James Gallagher of Nicolaus (Sutter County) and...

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Newsom’s plan to mail ballots to all California voters is temporarily blocked by judge

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