[EL] The perhaps overly partisan rhetoric of Alex Padilla, Calif. Sec. of State

[Richard Winger]

This message gives a false impression.  California Libertarians phoned thousands of registered Libertarians and asked them not to vote for Prop. 14.  Minor party memers set up the most popular anti-Prop. 14 web page, "Stop Top Two."   Richard Winger 415-922-9779 PO Box 470296, San Francisco Ca 94147

      From: "larrylevine at earthlink.net" <larrylevine at earthlink.net>
 To: 'Richard Winger' <richardwinger at yahoo.com>; 'Election Law Listserv' <law-election at uci.edu> 
 Sent: Saturday, November 10, 2018 3:08 PM
 Subject: RE: [EL] The perhaps overly partisan rhetoric of Alex Padilla, Calif. Sec. of State
   
#yiv1467930376 #yiv1467930376 -- _filtered #yiv1467930376 {font-family:Helvetica;panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4;} _filtered #yiv1467930376 {panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;} _filtered #yiv1467930376 {font-family:Calibri;panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}#yiv1467930376 #yiv1467930376 p.yiv1467930376MsoNormal, #yiv1467930376 li.yiv1467930376MsoNormal, #yiv1467930376 div.yiv1467930376MsoNormal {margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:sans-serif;}#yiv1467930376 a:link, #yiv1467930376 span.yiv1467930376MsoHyperlink {color:#0563C1;text-decoration:underline;}#yiv1467930376 a:visited, #yiv1467930376 span.yiv1467930376MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:#954F72;text-decoration:underline;}#yiv1467930376 p.yiv1467930376msonormal0, #yiv1467930376 li.yiv1467930376msonormal0, #yiv1467930376 div.yiv1467930376msonormal0 {margin-right:0cm;margin-left:0cm;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:sans-serif;}#yiv1467930376 span.yiv1467930376EmailStyle18 {font-family:sans-serif;}#yiv1467930376 span.yiv1467930376EmailStyle19 {font-family:sans-serif;}#yiv1467930376 .yiv1467930376MsoChpDefault {font-size:10.0pt;} _filtered #yiv1467930376 {margin:72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt;}#yiv1467930376 div.yiv1467930376WordSection1 {}#yiv1467930376 When California enacted the top-two Primary, which had the inevitable result of freezing minor party candidates out of the General Election, attempts were made to engage the minor parties in the campaign to defeat the measure. All that was asked was that the state chair of each of those parties be willing to sign mail to voters registered in their own parties expressing the importance of voting against the measure on the ballot. Every one of them declined. In my experience in speaking with those people, they indicated a belief that it was a plot by the Democratic Party.As for write-in campaigns, they yield so few votes that they would have virtually no impact on the results of the vast majority of elections. Write-ins are not the real issue.Larry  From: Law-election <law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu> On Behalf Of Richard Winger
Sent: Saturday, 10 November 2018 10:35 AM
To: Election Law Listserv <law-election at uci.edu>
Subject: [EL] The perhaps overly partisan rhetoric of Alex Padilla, Calif. Sec. of State  California's Secretary of State, Alex Padilla, is chair of the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State.  In that role he sends out fund-raising messages for that association.  Today's e-mail from him has the subject line "Brian Kemp is trying to steal Georgia's election."  Maybe that is a true observation, but it makes me queasy for one state's election officer to be talking about another state's election officer.

Also, Padilla is no champion of voting rights himself.  At his press conference in San Francisco on November 2, 2018, I asked him if he favors restoring write-in space on California general election ballots for congress and partisan state office.  The California legislature had eliminated write-in space for those offices in general elections, in 2012.

He replied stiffly, "That's for the legislature to decide."  And said nothing further.  Yet routinely, every year his office recommends election law changes to the legislature.

If California had write-in space in the general election, that would enable third party candidates to continue campaigning in the general election season, asking for write-in votes (California no longer allows third party candidates on the general election ballot for statewide office other than president), which would expand voter and candidate freedom of expression.  With no write-in space, it is obviously impossible for third party candidates to campaign for write-in votes; they simply shut up). Richard Winger 415-922-9779 PO Box 470296, San Francisco Ca 94147

   
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