Sponsor: Campaign & Candidates Working Group

Presenters/Contacts: Greg Jan (Oakland, 510-444-7336, gjan4@yahoo.com), Magali Offerman (San Diego, 858-243-3378, sdmo1@riseup.net and Mike Feinstein (Santa Monica, 310-392-8450, mfeinstein@feinstein.org)

Background and Purpose: The California Elections Code, Section 8605(a), requires that a write-in candidate for partisan office on the ballot line of a political party receive votes in the Primary Election equal to at least one percent (1%) of all votes cast for that office in the last General Election.

This minimum is the same for all parties. Since smaller qualified parties in California have far fewer members than the Democrats and Republicans, those parties can nominate write-in candidates easily, but no minor party has done so since 1968.

However, in November 2004, Proposition 60, added the following language to the California Constitution: "A political party that participated in a primary election for a partisan office has the right to participate in the general election for that office and shall not be denied the ability to place on the general election ballot the candidate who received, at the primary election, the highest vote among that party's candidates."

This proposal would create a GPCA Bylaw that would assert lower minimum vote thresholds for GPCA write-in candidates. Differences of opinion exist within the CCWG about the legal effectiveness of this rule change or whether it is necessary given the above-quoted language from Proposition 60.

Likely, a lawsuit would have to be brought by a GPCA write-in candidate denied access to the November 2006 ballot against a Registrar of Voters or the California Secretary of State to test whether California courts will accept the argument that such a bylaw change is sufficient to overcome the effect of a general elections procedures statute. It is also possible that legal proceedings brought by other smaller parties or their candidates may establish the enforceability of a similar GPCA rule. After discussions by teleconference and on the CCWG email list, there is consensus that this proposal should be presented to the General Assembly with a recommendation for its approval.

Further Background: The current state mandated threshold has no relationship to the number of registered Greens in the legislative district in which a candidate is running. Having a GPCA-generated standard would give the GPCA an ability to link the threshold to the number of Greens in the district (see attachment below for district-by-district numbers of the current requirements).

A GPCA-generated standard would also give the GPCA a greater ability to see who has filed and qualified in other parties' primaries, before deciding to enter a race. This is because the period to qualify as an official write-in candidate in the Primary comes after the qualification deadline to appear as a ballot-qualified candidate.

Note: This proposal does not apply to members of other parties, does not make it easier for a "cross-file" or "fusion" candidacy to occur and should not be confused with any prior GPCA discussions on those other issues.

Proposal:

(1) A Green Party member who otherwise qualifies as a write-in candidate for partisan office in the Green Party Primary Election shall qualify as the nominee of the Green Party of California for that office in the General Election if she or he receives the highest number of votes and receives either at least sixty (60) votes or at least a number of votes equal to two percent (2%) of the total number of Green Party registered voters in the district for that office, whichever is the larger number.

(2) The GPCA Liaison shall promptly report adoption of this Bylaw to the Secretary of State with a request that this information be communicated by the Secretary of State to the Registrar of Voters for all California counties.

(3) The Bylaws Committee shall designate numbering of this Bylaw Amendment and include it in future text as part of the GPCA Bylaws.

(4) This amendment to the GPCA Bylaws shall become effective immediately upon approval by the GPCA General Assembly.


Commitee Decision: The CCWG is a working group -- not a committee. Development of this proposal included telephone conference discussions and posting of drafts by email to gpca-ccwg@cagreens.org. The working group operates by consensus. The discussions in develop of this proposal are matters internal to the working group and its participants.

Timeline: Adoption at the next plenary in Ventura County, April 29th-30th, 2006.

Resources: Activities as above-described by the Bylaws Committee and Liaison to the Secretary of State..

Attachments: Click here for a chart of the number of write-in votes needed (by State Assembly District) under the current standard mandated by the California State Elections Codes.