Write-In Candidates Get Boost in Court

In a highly unusual ruling, an Orange County judge on Friday sided with challengers to Superior Court Judge Ronald C. Kline and ordered election officials to post signs at polling places alerting voters that they can receive a list of write-in candidates.

The ruling gives a significant boost to write-in candidates, who are traditionally longshots because their names don’t appear on ballots. County attorneys said they cannot recall such a step ever being taken.

Election officials must now display signs that will undoubtedly draw attention to write-in races at 1,716 polling places countywide.

The ruling affects all races in which write-ins are candidates but will particularly favor those opposing Kline, whose name is the only one that will appear on the ballot. Kline faces charges of child molestation and possessing child pornography.

“It changes the dynamic of the election,” said Dana Point attorney John Adams, one of the write-in hopefuls. “I think that before this ruling, it was wishful thinking that Judge Kline could be beat.”

County election officials had previously refused requests to post the names of write-ins at polling places, citing a recommendation from the California Secretary of State’s office against the practice.

But Friday morning, a group of voters together with one of Kline’s election opponents sued the county, arguing that Registrar of Voters Rosalyn Lever was unfairly depriving voters of information about qualified candidates.

After some hesitation, Judge Gregory H. Lewis agreed. Lewis ordered that voters should be made aware that they can ask for a list of write-ins running in every race--not just those running against Kline--when they pick up their ballots for Tuesday’s primary election.

Three people running for governor, lieutenant governor and county supervisor also have qualified as write-ins. But outside Lewis’ Santa Ana courtroom, it was clear which race had most at stake in the judge’s ruling.

Kline’s opponents applauded as they left the courtroom and hailed the order as a victory that could sway the outcome of the election.

With only four days before polling, their biggest hurdle has become spreading word that Kline is not running unopposed for another six-year term. The last successful write-in candidacy in Orange County was in 1986, and political observers have so far said Kline’s challengers face an uphill battle.

“I think the psychological effect will be to remind voters about this race,” said Dan Dutcher, a former judge running for Kline’s seat.

The ruling marked a compromise between election practices in Orange County and what the write-ins had hoped for.

Until now, voters could request a list of write-in candidates at polling stations but few knew they had such an option. The issue divided county officials. Supervisor Todd Spitzer attended Friday’s court hearing and asked the judge to rule against the county.

Lawyers working on behalf of the voters who filed the legal action asked Lewis to order that a list of the names of the write-ins be displayed where voters pick up their ballots.

County attorneys did not oppose the request, but the judge expressed concern that such a posting would give an unfair advantage to write-ins.

Legal experts praised the judge’s compromise as a creative way to solve the problem without giving too much help to any one candidate.

“The question here is: Does it confer an unfair advantage on the write-in candidates?” said Los Angeles attorney Manny Klausner, who specializes in election law.

“I’d say it neutralizes a bit the advantage of the candidate listed on the ballot, but it’s not unfair.”