On February 15, the plaintiffs in Soltysik v Padilla filed this reply brief in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. This is the lawsuit over whether California is violating the First Amendment by printing party preferences on the ballot for some candidates, but not all candidates. The plaintiffs are registered “Socialist” and when they run for partisan office, they want “Party preference: Socialist” on the ballot, not “Party preference: none” which the law requires. California law only allows a candidate’s party preference to be listed on the ballot if the candidate is a member of a qualified party. The hearing is March 14.