General Provisions - Direct Primary - Elections - CA

Section § 8000

This section lists a number of elections and nominations that this chapter’s rules don’t cover. Specifically, it doesn’t apply to recall elections, presidential primaries, and nominations for offices in cities or counties with their own nomination systems. It also doesn’t apply to nominations for districts not set up for municipal purposes, general law city officers, or school district officers.

This chapter does not apply to:

(a) Recall elections.

(b) Presidential primary.

(c) Nomination of officers of cities or counties whose charters provide a system for nominating candidates for those offices.

(d) Nomination of officers for any district not formed for municipal purposes.

(e) Nomination of officers for general law cities.

(f) Nomination of school district officers.

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Section § 8001

In California, anyone running for a county central committee must have been registered with the political party they wish to represent for at least three months before applying, or for the entire time they have been eligible to vote. They cannot have been registered with another qualified political party within the past year.

An elections official will certify this status when a candidate files their declaration of candidacy. However, if a political party is participating in its first primary election, these rules do not apply.

Additionally, a county central committee can set its own rules, as long as they follow the state central committee's bylaws, about how long a candidate must have preferred their political party and how long they can't have preferred another party before running.

(a) A declaration of candidacy for membership on a county central committee shall not be filed by a candidate unless (1) at the time of presentation of the declaration and continuously for not less than three months immediately prior to that time, or for as long as the candidate has been eligible to register to vote in the state, the candidate is shown by the candidate’s affidavit of registration to have expressed a preference for the political party of that committee, and (2) the candidate has not been registered with a preference for a qualified political party other than that political party within 12 months.

(b) The elections official shall attach a certificate to the declaration of candidacy showing the date on which the candidate registered with a preference for the political party of that committee, and indicating that the candidate has not been registered with a preference for any other qualified political party for the period specified in subdivision (a) immediately preceding the filing of the declaration. This section does not apply to a declaration of candidacy filed by a candidate of a political party participating in its first direct primary election subsequent to its qualification as a political party pursuant to Section 5100.

(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a county central committee, subject to the bylaws of the state central committee, may establish the length of time that a candidate for membership on that committee must be shown by the candidate’s affidavit of registration to have expressed a preference for the political party of that committee, and may establish the length of time that a candidate for membership on that committee must not have been registered with a preference for a qualified political party other than the political party of that committee.

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Section § 8002

When someone runs for a nonpartisan position, they must not mention any political party affiliation on the forms they need to submit for their candidacy.

If a candidate is a candidate for a nonpartisan office, all reference to party affiliation shall be omitted on all forms required to be filed.

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Section § 8002.5

This law section details the rules for candidates running for voter-nominated offices regarding declaring their party preference. Candidates must state their party preference or indicate 'none' if they haven't disclosed any, based on their most recent voter registration. This declared preference appears on both the primary and general election ballots and cannot be changed between these elections. Regardless of party preference, any qualified voter can vote for any candidate in these offices. The candidate's declared preference doesn't mean they are officially endorsed by that party, and it's purely informational for voters. Papers filed by candidates won't feature any party preference information except for the space to declare it in the candidacy declaration.

(a) A candidate for a voter-nominated office shall indicate one of the following upon their declaration of candidacy, which shall be consistent with what appears on the candidate’s most recent affidavit of registration:

(1) “Party Preference: ______ (insert the name of the qualified political party as disclosed upon your affidavit of registration).”

(2) “Party Preference: None (if you have declined to disclose a preference for a qualified political party upon your affidavit of registration).”

(b) The selection made by a candidate pursuant to subdivision (a) shall appear on the primary and general election ballot in conjunction with the candidate’s name, and shall not be changed between the primary and general election.

(c) Regardless of the party preference, or lack of party preference, of the candidate or the voter, any qualified voter may vote for any candidate for a voter-nominated office if the voter is otherwise entitled to vote for candidates for the office to be filled. Nothing in Section 2151, 13102, or 13502 shall be construed to limit the ability of a voter to cast a primary election ballot for any candidate for a voter-nominated office, regardless of the party preference, or lack of party preference, designated by the candidate for inclusion upon the ballot pursuant to this section, provided that the voter is otherwise qualified to cast a ballot for the office at issue.

(d) A candidate designating a party preference pursuant to subdivision (a) shall not be deemed to be the official nominee of the party designated as preferred by the candidate. A candidate’s designation of party preference shall not be construed as an endorsement of that candidate by the party designated. The party preference designated by the candidate is shown for the information of the voters only and may in no way limit the options available to voters.

(e) All references to party preference or affiliation shall be omitted from all forms required to be filed by a voter-nominated candidate pursuant to this division in the same manner that such references are omitted from forms required to be filed by nonpartisan candidates pursuant to Section 8002, except that the declaration of candidacy required by Section 8040 shall include space for the candidate to list the party preference disclosed upon the candidate’s most recent affidavit of registration, in accordance with subdivision (a).

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Section § 8003

This rule says that you cannot run for more than one position in the same primary election, except if you're running for a spot on a political party's county central committee. If you've already filed papers to run for one position and haven't officially withdrawn, any new papers you file for a different position in the same election will be rejected and considered invalid.

(a)

(1) A person shall not file nomination papers for more than one office at the same primary election.

(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), “office” does not include the position of member of a political party’s county central committee.

(b) If a person has filed nomination papers for an office at a primary election and those nomination papers have not been withdrawn pursuant to Section 8020.5, the elections official shall reject as invalid any nomination papers that the person attempts to file for another office at the same primary election.

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Section § 8004

If no one runs for a political party's nomination for a partisan office in a county, the election officials won't print a ballot for that party in that county. They must notify registered voters of that party, and send a nonpartisan ballot. However, if a petition showing interest in a write-in campaign is filed within 10 days, signed by either 10% of registered voters or 100 voters, whichever is fewer, a partisan ballot can be printed.

A different petition is needed for each office where a write-in campaign is planned.

(a) In the event that no candidate files for a party’s nomination for any partisan office that would appear on the ballot in a county or a political subdivision within that county, the elections official shall do both of the following:

(1) Refrain from printing a partisan ballot for that party in that county or a political subdivision within that county in which there are no candidates for that political party’s nomination.

(2) Send notification to those voters registered as affiliated with that party that there were no qualified candidates for the partisan office for which the voter is eligible to vote, together with a nonpartisan ballot, unless, within 10 days after the final date for filing nomination papers for the office, a petition indicating that a write-in campaign will be conducted is filed with the elections official and signed by 10 percent of the registered voters, or 100 registered voters, whichever is less, affiliated with that party within the county or a political subdivision within that county, whichever is applicable.

(b) A separate petition shall be filed for each specific office for which a write-in campaign is to be conducted.

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Section § 8005

The Secretary of State is responsible for running public education campaigns to inform voters about how party roles function in different types of elections, including primary elections for party-nominated, voter-nominated, and nonpartisan offices. They must do this using existing budgets and resources.

In addition to satisfying the requirements of Sections 9083.5, 9084.5, and 14105.1, the Secretary of State shall conduct public voter education campaigns, using existing resources, for the purpose of publicly disseminating information regarding the roles of the parties in primary elections for party-nominated offices, voter-nominated offices, and nonpartisan offices.

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