California Secretary of State Posts List of Declared Write-in Candidates for June Primary

On May 22, the California Secretary of State posted a list of declared write-in candidates for the June 2 primary. See it here.

There are eight Assembly districts in which only one person qualified to be on the primary ballot. Among them, no one filed as a write-in in the 4th, 8th, 22nd 0r 32nd districts. If anyone had filed as a write-in in any of those districts, and then received at least one write-in, that person would have been on the general election ballot.

In the 17th district in San Francisco, three write-ins filed, a Republican, a Libertarian, and a Peace & Freedom Party member. Whichever of these three gets the most write-ins will be on the November ballot.

In the 63rd district, a Peace & Freedom member is the only write-in, and he will be on the November ballot assuming he gets at least one write-in.

In the 54th and 61st districts, a Republican filed as a write-in.

Procedural Win in New Jersey Ballot Format Case

On May 22, U.S. District Court Judge Zahid Quraishi ruled that the plaintiffs in Kim v Hanlon, 3:24cv-1098, have standing to continue arguing that the old New Jersey discriminatory primary ballot access format is unconstitutional. The judge had already enjoined it in 2024, and the legislature had improved the primary ballot format in 2025. But, the new law still has flaws that the plaintiffs object to. The state had tried to get the case dismissed on the grounds that the plaintiffs lack standing, but the new ruling says the candidates still do have standing, because they have said they expect to run in future primaries. Here is the order.

Wisconsin Lawsuit on Ban for Out-of-State Circulators

A federal lawsuit against the new Wisconsin ban on out-of-state circulators is pending in U.S. District Court. The Wisconsin legislature has asked to intervene in the case in support of the law, but the judge has not yet ruled on whether to allow that. The deadline for the brief of the state is due June 4. The plaintiffs are not seeking injunctive relief but they are seeking to have the law declared unconstitutional. Americans for Citizen Voting PAC v Wolfe, e.d., 2:26cv-786.