On March 1, Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Shelleyanne Chang ordered the Secretary of State to revise the ballot occupational designation of a candidate for legislature in a special election. Haney v Weber, 34-2022-80003825. See this story.
UPDATE: here is the four-page court order.
The first round of the special election for Assembly, 17th district, was held February 15. No one received as much as 50%, so there is a runoff set for April 19. David Campos, one of the candidates, used the occupation “Civil Rights Attorney” on the February 15 ballot. But in the run-off, assuming there is no appeal of the court ruling, he must change it to “Criminal justice administrator.” His most recent job has been an executive in the San Francisco District Attorney’s office.
It is surprising that a court would alter the ballot designation after the first round has been held. This precedent might have relevance to California ballot labels concerning party affiliation. For example, if the Common Sense Party qualified after the June 2022 primary but before the November 2022 election, and it had any candidates in the general election, they might be able to win a ruling that the November ballot should say “Party preference: Common Sense Party” instead of “Party preference: none.” Current California law says the partisan label can’t change between the primary and the election.