Assemblyman Tom Umberg of California sued the California Secretary of State on March 20. Umberg charges that the Secretary of State should not have placed J. Luis Correa on the Democratic primary ballot, as an opponent to Umberg (both are running for State Senate). Umberg says Correa turned in too many signatures. The law says a candidate seeking a place on a primary ballot (for district office) needs 40 signatures, and that no one may turn in more than 60 signatures. Correa turned in 101 signatures. The case is Umberg v McPherson,06-406, Superior Court, Sacramento, and will be heard March 28.

This case will test whether the recent California Supreme Court opinion Costa v Superior Court applies to candidate petitions as well as initiative petitions. The Costa case set forth a “substantial compliance” rule for initiative petitions (see the March 1, 2006 Ballot Access News for more about the Costa opinion).