On April 29, the California Supreme Court refused to hear Rubin v Padilla, the case filed by three of California’s minor parties that charges the top-two system injures voting rights in the general election. It is conceivable that the case will now be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
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With help & promises to Abel Maldonado. Serious scumbag.
Back in the 1970’s, the California Supreme Court was a leader in advancing voting rights. It ruled that it was unconstitutional to list candidates on the ballot in alphabetical order; instead the state has to rotate names so all candidates get an equal shot at being on top. In 1986 it ruled that write-ins can’t be banned. It struck down duration of residency requirements for candidates. It struck down filing fees for write-in candidates, and said an alternative to the filing fee had to be provided every candidate, not just poor candidates.
But nowadays, it ducks all election law cases. When a candidate sued the Secretary of State to enforce the provision in the California Constitution saying a legislator must have lived in the district one year before running, the State Supreme Court wouldn’t take that case either, because to enforce that provision (which indisputably is constitutional), would have offended state legislators who frequently move their residence less than a year before an election. In 2002 it reversed the 1986 decision from the same court that had protected write-in votes. And now this. Four of the seven memberw of the Court were appointed by Republican Governors, including Arnold Schwarzenegger who is a big proponent of top-two.