A Sacramento Superior Court judge is expected to issue a ruling Monday on whether Gov. Gavin Newsom’s party affiliation will appear on the gubernatorial recall election ballot.
The governor is seeking to have "Democrat" alongside his name on the recall ballot after it wasn’t included on his initial paperwork. The suit, filed June 28, states that Newsom “substantially complied” with California Elections Code section 11320. “Due to an inadvertent but good faith mistake on the part of his elections attorney, Newsom timely filed his answer but did not include his party-preference election,” the suit states.
Thomas Willis, who is representing Newsom in the lawsuit, did not reply to a request for comment from the Northern California Record.
Dr. Shirley Weber, who was appointed Secretary of State by Newsom, had declined the governor’s request because it violated the deadline established in SB 151 – the law amending the Elections Code to include party preference on recall ballots – which was enacted by the governor in October 2019.
“Newsom has requested for his party preference to appear on the ballot and has complied with the reasonable objectives of the statutes, yet Weber has stated she will not require the recall ballot to include Newsom’s party preference without a Court order,” the suit states.
The Friday hearing before Superior Court Judge James P. Arguelles included attorney arguments from Willis for Gov. Newsom, Bradley Benbrook for Caitlyn Jenner – a Newsom challenger who filed intervenor opposition to his petition – Kevin Calia for Secretary of State Weber, and Eric Early, lead counsel for the California Patriot Coalition – Recall Governor Gavin Newsom.
Judge Arguelles told the attorneys he would issue a ruling on Monday.
“We on the Recall team are fighting to have Newsom follow the law – a law that he signed,” Early told the Record by email. “The law required him to submit a statement to the Secretary of State 16 months ago stating whether he wanted his Party Affiliation listed next to his name on the recall ballot. The law also says that if Newsom failed to timely submit this information, the ballot shall not have his party affiliation on it.”
Newsom is asking the Court to allow him to do what he failed to do as required by the statute, said Early, who is also a candidate for California Attorney General.
“If the law is followed, Newsom will be precluded from having his party affiliation next to his name on the ballot,” Early said.