A group of lawyers filed papers today in Los Angeles in opposition to a lawsuit that seeks to have California's gubernatorial recall election called off, or else the ballot changed before voters head to polls on Sept. 14.
Lawyers for a group of California voters filed the motion in federal court to intervene in litigation brought by two other voters against California Secretary of State Shirley Weber. Weber is overseeing the recall.
The Aug. 14 lawsuit seeks a preliminary injunction to halt the recall election. If not, plaintiffs have requested to add Gov. Gavin Newsom to the ballot as a candidate, thereby potentially replacing himself in the event a recall is triggered.
The plaintiffs argue that California's recall provision violates the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution by allowing sitting governors to be potentially replaced by recall candidates who have ultimately received fewer votes than the incumbent.
Essentially, by winning a simple plurality of votes in the state, challengers may unseat Newsom even if the governor ultimately receives more votes against a recall than any other individual candidate receives as a potential replacement.
Secretary Weber "has made it clear publicly that she questions the legality of the recall, and it is reasonable to believe that she won't defend the 110-year-old recall process as vigorously in court as it deserves, so we hope the court allows us to intervene on behalf of the interests of millions of Californians that this administration routinely ignores," said attorney Harmeet K. Dhillon, a former vice chair of the California Republican Party, who filed the motion to intervene.
Dhillon was also a legal adviser on former President Donald Trump's 2020 reelection campaign.
"Moreover, our clients are citizens who have already voted, and as such they have a different interest in the outcome of this dispute than do the government officials appointed by Gavin Newsom, the target of the recall, who are charged with defending state law," she said. (Dhillon is referring to Weber, who was appointed to the Secretary of State's office earlier this year when Alex Padilla joined the U.S. Senate.)
Weber has expressed concerns over "some serious problems" with California's recall laws and she believes that challenger candidates, most of whom are Republicans, should not win office with a plurality vote even though such scenario is provided for in the California state constitution.
The lawsuit alleged that the recall violates the "one person, one vote" principle enshrined in the 14th Amendment as Newsom himself cannot be selected by voters as a replacement candidate. Voting is formatted so that voters may first select "yes" or "no" on a recall, then proceed to a second box wherein they select from a number of candidates to succeed Newsom if a majority votes in favor of his removal.