Talk radio host Larry Elder is suing over a decision by California election officials to block him from running in the September recall election that could oust Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The Associated Press reports the Republican said in a statement late Monday that he filed all the necessary paperwork to qualify for a slot on the ballot, including over 300 pages of tax returns that are required to become a candidate. But the secretary of state’s office did not include Elder on a preliminary list of 41 candidates last weekend, saying he filed incomplete information on those returns.
Elder’s campaign said he sued Monday, seeking an order from a court in Sacramento that would require Secretary of State Shirley Weber to list Elder as a candidate on the final certified list of candidates, scheduled to be issued Wednesday.
“Frankly, this action by the secretary of state is not simply unfair and absurd but a dangerous and unconstitutional precedent,” said Elder, who also is an attorney.
If Elder fails to make the ballot, it would be a setback for recall organizers who hoped for a large field of prominent candidates to attract voters. When Elder announced his candidacy last week, he immediately became one of the most recognized Republicans in the race, given his years on talk radio and frequent appearances on Fox News.
In a statement, Weber’s office said the agency applies the same criteria to each candidate that seeks elected office.
The list of candidates issued “did not include Mr. Elder and others that failed to comply with those requirements. This is the first election where the gubernatorial candidate tax-disclosure law has been applied.”
Elder is facing a narrow window of time for the court to make a change. With the election less than two months away, election officials already are arranging for ballots to be printed. Mail-in ballots go out next month.
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