Perusing the Candidate List over at the Registrar of Voters website, I found a little diddy that amused me. Aside from the fact that there are 10 candidates running in the 52nd Congressional District, candidate John Stahl’s ballot designation lists him as Veteran/Conservative/Businessman.
What’s the “No-No” you may ask? The use of the word “conservative” as a ballot designation. Let me explain to you why this is wrong…
For reference, John Stahl is running in the newly drawn 52nd Congressional District against Republican Party-endorsed incumbent Congressman Brian Bilbray.
Now, I’m not here to debate the merits of whether John Stahl is conservative or not. That’s not the issue. The issue is according to state Elections Code 13107, a candidate is not allowed to use a designation that “would suggest an evaluation of a candidate such as outstanding, leading, expert, virtuous, or eminent” — a direct quote from the obligatory Candidate Filing Guide that was handed to all candidates from the Registrar of Voters. (I’m referring to page 44, half-way down the page if you have one.)
The word “conservative” is one of these words that would fall into this evaluation category. As I said, it’s not that John is not conservative by any means, it is simply that he cannot use this as a ballot designation.
On another note… 10 candidates in the 52nd District? Really??
Comments 1
I respectfully disagree.
For the term ‘conservative’ to be excluded under the list cited is a big stretch on semantics. Plus, the registrar let it slide. She’s the deciding factor so, unless a court rules otherwise, I think it’s just peachy keen. No harm, no foul.