On July 30, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 505, which makes it easier for a candidate to get on a presidential primary ballot. The old law says the Secretary of State should put all “recognized” candidates on the presidential primary ballot of the party whose nomination the candidate is seeking. But it is very vague. For minor party presidential primaries, the Secretary of State has traditionally let the state chair of the party tell him or her whom to list. However, in 2016, Secretary of State Alex Padilla did not entirely follow that tradition. He refused to let the Peace & Freedom Party list Jill Stein, and he disallowed many candidates suggested by the American Independent Party.

SB 505 says a candidate can be on a California presidential primary if he or she is on the presidential primary ballot of at least one other state. It also says a candidate can be listed if the party wants that candidate on its primary ballot, and also the candidate has a campaign web page.

The Peace & Freedom Party, and the Green Party, worked effectively to transform SB 505. When it was first introduced, it was quite restrictive, but their lobbying improved the bill.

SB 505 says nothing about presidential tax returns. But because it fleshes out which candidates are “recognized” (i.e., those candidates who meet the SB 505 conditions), it will make it easier for various presidential candidates to sue over the tax returns bill, should they wish to do so.