California Elections Code 9083.5 – (a) If a candidate for nomination or election to a partisan …
(a) If a candidate for nomination or election to a partisan office will appear on the ballot, the Secretary of State shall include in the state voter information guide a written explanation of the election procedure for such offices. The explanation shall read substantially similar to the following:
PARTY-NOMINATED/PARTISAN OFFICES
Terms Used In California Elections Code 9083.5
- candidate: includes any officeholder who is subject to a recall election. See California Elections Code 305
- Election: means any election including a primary that is provided for under this code. See California Elections Code 318
- General election: means either of the following:
California Elections Code 324
- Judicial office: means the office filled by any judicial officer. See California Elections Code 326
- Nominate: means the selection, at a state-conducted primary election, of candidates who are entitled by law to participate in the general election for that office, but does not mean any other lawful mechanism that a political party may adopt for the purposes of choosing the candidate who is preferred by the party for a nonpartisan or voter-nominated office. See California Elections Code 332.5
- Nonpartisan office: means an office, except for a voter-nominated office, for which no party may nominate a candidate. See California Elections Code 334
- Party: means a political party or organization that has qualified for participation in any primary or presidential general election. See California Elections Code 338
- Precinct: means a geographical area within a county that is made up of voters and is formed pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 12200) of Division 12. See California Elections Code 338.6
- Primary election: includes all primary nominating elections provided for by this code. See California Elections Code 341
- Voter: means any elector who is registered under this code. See California Elections Code 359
- Voter-nominated office: means a congressional or state elective office for which a candidate may choose to have his or her party preference or lack of party preference indicated upon the ballot. See California Elections Code 359.5
Under the California Constitution, political parties may formally nominate candidates for party-nominated/partisan offices at the primary election. A candidate so nominated will then represent that party as its official candidate for the office in question at the ensuing general election and the ballot will reflect an official designation to that effect. The top votegetter for each party at the primary election is entitled to participate in the general election. Parties also elect officers of official party committees at a partisan primary.
No voter may vote in the primary election of any political party other than the party he or she has disclosed a preference for upon registering to vote. However, a political party may authorize a person who has declined to disclose a party preference to vote in that party’s primary election.
(b) If any candidate for nomination or election to a voter-nominated office will appear on the ballot, the Secretary of State shall include in the state voter information guide a written explanation of the election procedure for such offices. The explanation shall read substantially similar to the following:
VOTER-NOMINATED OFFICES
Under the California Constitution, political parties are not entitled to formally nominate candidates for voter-nominated offices at the primary election. A candidate nominated for a voter-nominated office at the primary election is the nominee of the people and not the official nominee of any party at the following general election. A candidate for nomination or election to a voter-nominated office shall have his or her party preference, or lack of party preference, reflected on the primary and general election ballot, but the party preference designation is selected solely by the candidate and is shown for the information of the voters only. It does not constitute or imply an endorsement of the candidate by the party designated, or affiliation between the party and candidate, and no candidate nominated by the qualified voters for any voter-nominated office shall be deemed to be the officially nominated candidate of any political party. The parties may list the candidates for voter-nominated offices who have received the official endorsement of the party in the county voter information guide.
All voters may vote for any candidate for a voter-nominated office, provided they meet the other qualifications required to vote for that office. The top two votegetters at the primary election advance to the general election for the voter-nominated office, even if both candidates have specified the same party preference designation. A party is not entitled to have a candidate with its party preference designation participate in the general election unless such candidate is one of the two highest votegetters at the primary election.
(c) If any candidate for nomination or election to a nonpartisan office, other than judicial office, shall appear on the ballot, the Secretary of State shall include in the state voter information guide a written explanation of the election procedure for such offices. The explanation shall read substantially similar to the following:
NONPARTISAN OFFICES
Under the California Constitution, political parties are not entitled to nominate candidates for nonpartisan offices at the primary election, and a candidate nominated for a nonpartisan office at the primary election is not the official nominee of any party for the office in question at the ensuing general election. A candidate for nomination or election to a nonpartisan office may NOT designate his or her party preference, or lack of party preference, on the primary and general election ballot. The top two votegetters at the primary election advance to the general election for the nonpartisan office.
(d) Posters or other printed materials containing the notices specified in subdivisions (a) to (c), inclusive, shall be included in the precinct supplies pursuant to Section 14105.
(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 422, Sec. 28. (AB 2911) Effective January 1, 2017.)