A candidate for a partisan office, including that of presidential elector, may be nominated subsequent to, or by other means than, a primary election pursuant to this chapter. A candidate for nonpartisan office or for voter-nominated office may be nominated subsequent to, or by other means than, a primary election pursuant to this chapter only if a candidate was not nominated or elected at the primary election for that office.
Independent NominationsGeneral Provisions
Section § 8300
If you're running for a partisan office, like a presidential elector, you can be nominated without having to go through a primary election, according to the rules in this chapter. For nonpartisan or voter-nominated offices, candidates can be nominated outside of a primary election only if no one was picked during the primary.
partisan office nomination presidential elector nonpartisan office
Section § 8301
If someone runs as a partisan candidate in a primary election and loses, they cannot then run as an independent candidate in the same election cycle.
A candidate for whom a nomination paper has been filed as a partisan candidate at a primary election, and who is defeated for his or her party nomination at the primary election, is ineligible for nomination as an independent candidate.
partisan candidate primary election defeated candidate
Section § 8302
This law section states that the rules and procedures from Chapter 1, starting with Section 8000, and Part 4, starting with Section 8800, apply to all political offices nominated at presidential and direct primary elections. It also extends to other offices that those rules usually wouldn't cover, as long as they don’t contradict this chapter.
For the purposes of this chapter, Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 8000) of Part 1, and Part 4 (commencing with Section 8800), so far as consistent with this chapter, shall apply to all offices for which nominations are made at the presidential primary and direct primary elections, as well as to elections for any other office to which those provisions would not ordinarily apply.
presidential primary elections direct primary elections nomination procedures
Section § 8303
This law section says that when a group of candidates running to be presidential electors in California submits their nomination papers, they can include the names of their chosen candidates for President and Vice President. The electors are pledging to vote for these candidates if they are elected.
Whenever a group of candidates for presidential electors, equal in number to the number of presidential electors to which this state is entitled, files a nomination paper with the Secretary of State pursuant to this chapter, the nomination paper may contain the name of the candidate for President of the United States and the name of the candidate for Vice President of the United States for whom all of those candidates for presidential electors pledge themselves to vote.
presidential electors nomination paper Secretary of State
Section § 8304
This section explains that when a group of candidates who will vote in the Electoral College selects their preferred presidential and vice-presidential pair, those candidates' names are added to the election ballot as detailed in another section of the election laws.
When a group of candidates for presidential electors designates the presidential and vice presidential candidates for whom all of the group pledge themselves to vote, the names of the presidential candidate and vice presidential candidate designated by that group shall be printed on the ballot pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 13100) of Division 13.
presidential electors electoral college ballot
