Rep. Issa’s lawsuit on mail-in-ballot counts put on ice — pending action by high court

Rep Darrell Issa sued Secretary of State Shirley Weber to halt late counting of mail-in ballots Times of San Diego Photo illustration Rep Darrell Issa s effort to bar mail-in ballots from being counted after Poll Day is officially on hold pending a U S Supreme Court verdict in a similar event Trump amicus brief to U S Supreme Court on Bost occurrence PDF A San Diego federal judge on Wednesday posted an order staying Issa s lawsuit against Secretary of State Shirley Weber and others Issa wants to halt the practice because he explained it provides an unfair electoral advantage for opponents of Republican congressional incumbents like himself The League of Women Voters of California had balked at joining a motion to halt the affair But in granting the stay motion Judge Schopler disclosed The Court has considered defendant League of Women Voters arguments but still believes that the Supreme Court s upcoming decision in Bost will likely control the standing question here Bost is shorthand for Bost v Illinois Board of Elections which the high court on June agreed to hear in the upcoming term Issa s GOP colleague Rep Mike Bost of southern Illinois filed suit in May and the scenario has already been heard by the th Circuit U S Court of Appeals based in Chicago Rep Issa asks federal judge to freeze his mail-ballot incident pending SCOTUS verdict A divided panel upheld the district court s dismissal of the affair for lack of standing or eligibility to sue So the Supreme Court won t decide whether post-election mail-ballot counting is constitutional Instead the high court explained The sole question presented here is whether Petitioners as federal candidates have pleaded sufficient factual accusations to show Article III standing to challenge state time place and manner regulations concerning their federal elections Judge Andrew Schopler s order granting a joint stay motion in Darrell Issa suit Curtis Morrison is a defendant in the Issa lawsuit granted intervenor status along with others and one of Issa s opponents in the electoral contest Morrison narrated Times of San Diego Maybe this will free up particular of Issa s time so he can resume his passion for holding former presidents accountable for things that he thinks happened in the before times Morrison who has at least three other Democratic rivals for the th Congressional District seat of East County noted that the the United States filed an amicus brief Tuesday He mentioned the Trump administration suggested that the Supreme Court find that candidates have standing to seek prospective relief challenging a rule governing the validity of ballots so long as there is a menace that the ballots at issue could affect the outcome of their vote Morrison doesn t consider that an unreasonable position I m more concerned that waiting on the resolution of Bost delays Issa s challenge making it more likely the matter will require rushed and crisis briefing and hearing in the run-up to the general voting process he noted Times of San Diego has sought comment from Weber s office Issa and his attorneys and others in the affair but has yet to hear back