The federal lawsuit argues that counting vote-by-mail ballots that arrive up to seven days after Election Day violates federal law and directly led to the defeats of two Republican incumbents in last fall’s election.

U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Bonsall, sued California on Thursday in an attempt to block the state from counting future mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day, arguing that “late-arriving (vote-by-mail) ballots tend to favor Democratic candidates and provide an unfair electoral advantage for opponents of Republican congressional incumbents.”

Darrell Issa, the North County Republican, has sued the state of California in federal court to stop mail-in ballots from being counted after Election Day. He claims the practice provides “an unfair electoral advantage for opponents of Republican congressional incumbents.