On Friday evening, a federal judge rejected Secretary of State Debra Bowen’s bid to delay our case involving Proposition 14 (the Top Two Primary).  Secretary Bowen is running for Congress from the 36th Congressional District, in the first federal election to be run under Proposition 14′s controversial rules.

Our lawsuit — which was filed by Coffee Party candidate Michael Chamness, write-in candidate Daniel Frederick, and voter Rich Wilson — challenges the constitutionality of Senate Bill 6, a core part of Proposition 14.

Specifically, SB 6 disenfranchises voters by banning write-in votes from being counted in the general election, and harms independent candidates by forcing them to state on the ballot that they have “No Party Preference”.  If we prevail, Proposition 14 will be put on hold until the Legislature fixes the defects of Senate Bill 6.

In an emergency (ex parte) motion, Ms. Bowen had essentially asked the court to delay the litigation until the end of the year.  We vigorously opposed her bid to delay this important case, and the court agreed that it should not be delayed.

The court has set the hearing on our Motion for Summary Judgment for June 13, one month before the July 12 general election in Congressional District 36.