Socialist candidate label is subject of controversy amid California top-two ballot system for elections

Ballot Access News has the latest:

On September 13, both sides in the lawsuit Soltysik v Padilla, 16-55758, now pending in the Ninth Circuit, agreed to mediate the case. The mediation conference is set for September 27. The issue is whether members of unqualified parties may have their party printed on the ballot when they run for Congress or partisan state office. The plaintiffs are registered “Socialist” but under current law, their ballot label is “party preference: none.”

By contrast, Washington, the only other state that uses a top-two system, lets any candidate choose any partisan label if it is 15 characters or less and is not obscene. This year, in the California primary, two candidates were on the ballot for U.S. Senate who were registered members of unqualified parties. Eleanor Garcia is registered “Socialist Workers” and Don Grundmann is registered “Constitution.”

The League of Women Voters of California explains more about the state’s Presidential Primary:

If you are registered to vote with a political party, you will be given a ballot for that party in a Presidential primary election. If you are unaffiliated with any party (sometimes called “no party preference” or “decline to state”), you will be given a nonpartisan ballot, containing only the names of all candidates for nonpartisan offices and any ballot measures to be voted upon at the primary election.

Or, you may be able to request the ballot of one of the political parties at the polls or on your vote-by-mail ballot request form. Each political party has the option of allowing decline-to-state voters to vote in their Presidential primary.

And for the California Statewide Primary:

In June 2012, California started using the Top Two Candidate Open Primary system for statewide offices.

• All candidates for a given state or congressional office will be listed on a single Primary Election ballot.
• Voters can vote for the candidate of their choice for these offices.
• The top two candidates, as determined by the voters, will advance to the General Election in November.