California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) cannot identify himself as a Democrat on the ballot in September’s recall election, a judge ruled Monday.
Newsom sued California Secretary of State Shirley Weber late last month because she did not fix a filing mistake that took his political affiliation off the ballot.
Per state law, Newsom was required to request his party affiliation be put on the ballot during a seven-day response window after the recall notice was filed. That deadline was 16 months ago.
The lawsuit argues that the error was a “good faith mistake,” but Weber rejected their call for the issue to be fixed.
Superior Court Judge James P. Arguelles ruled Monday that the good-faith assertion does not “justify excuse from the deadline,” according to Courthouse News.
Arguelles added that state law “unambiguously precludes party information from appearing on a recall ballot where the elected officer fails timely to make the designation.”
He added that the law clearly “does not consider information about an elected officer’s party affiliation so vital to voters that it must be included on the ballot.”
Nathan Click, a spokesperson for Newsom’s campaign against the recall, told the Los Angeles Times that he expects Democrats to support Newsom regardless of the ruling.
“Californians see this partisan recall for what it is — a Republican power grab, and across the state you see Democrats united behind Gov. Newsom. Gov. Newsom will defeat this Republican recall,” Click told the newspaper.
The Hill has reached out to Newsom’s campaign and Weber’s office for comment.
California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis (D) confirmed earlier this month that the recall election will take place Sept. 14.
Fifty-eight candidates have filed notices of intent to run thus far.