California law generally says that only two candidates may be on the November ballot for congress or partisan state office. That has been the law starting in 2011. But, for the first time since the top-two law went into effect, there will be three candidates on the November ballot for one legislative race. That race is for the Assembly, 62nd district, in Los Angeles County. There is a tie between two write-in candidates in the June 7 primary. Only one name was printed on the primary ballot, incumbent Democrat Autumn Burke. Two candidates filed to have their write-ins counted in June, and they both got 32 write-ins. One is a Republican and one is a Libertarian.
Election Code section 8142(b)(3) covers this situation, and says a tie for second place means that three candidates qualify for November. Thanks to Ted Brown for this news.
When SB 6 was written, the legislature adopted the language used for nonpartisan elections, with the exception of always requiring a runoff. So if in a nonpartisan race there is a tie for 2nd, and leader does not have a majority there will also be three candidates.
There was another provision regarding vacancies in nomination following the primary. For nonpartisan elections the top two remaining candidates appear on the general election ballot (Elections Code 8807). The same provision was copied for voter-nominated (Top 2) offices.
Somebody discovered that and decided it was crazy for the 2nd and 3rd placed candidates to be on the general election ballot. It was changed for voter-nominated offices, but still remains for nonpartisan races. It probably happens infrequently, and no one cares about nonpartisan races.
California has provision for tie votes in some elections, that are to be settled by lot. See Division 15, chapter 10, “tie votes.”
Article 1 applies to non-primaries.
Article 2 applies to primaries that determine a winner.
So determining lots only happens when there will not be a subsequent phase of the election.
Top 2 continues to be a mutated perversion version of the Instant ROT Virus (IRV).
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NO primaries.
P.R. and nonpartisan App.V.
In the June 2014 primary, a supermajority of Senate and Assembly seats had either only one candidate and / or one candidate polled over 50%. It’s time to end primaries and use instant run off in November. The June primary us a waste of resources that contributes nothing to the political results.
I like that, three candidates is what we should have, Top Two works.
California should move the Top 2 primary to September and permit election to occur in the primary (the provision for Congress would be delayed until Congress updates the law).