Judge: Take My Name Off Ballot

Candidates seeking to unseat an Orange County judge accused of child molestation were sent notices late Tuesday from Ronald C. Kline’s attorney stating that his client wants to remove his name from the ballot.

The fax to the 11 write-in candidates asked whether they would approve or oppose a legal motion by Kline to pull out of the November election. The fax from attorney Paul Meyer states that Kline will take the issue to court Thursday.

The write-in candidates challenged Kline after he was charged with child molestation and possession of child pornography. Because Kline was not charged until after the filing deadline for the March 5 election, Kline’s name was the only one on the ballot.

Still, Kline received only 33% of the vote and is to face the top voter-getter among the write-ins in the November election.

The county registrar’s office has spent the past week hand-counting the ballots to determine which of the challengers would face Kline. Election officials said they hope to announce a preliminary result today.

Meyer could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Registrar Rosalyn Lever said she was unaware of Kline’s intention to pull out but believed that, if he did so, the two top write-in candidates would face each other in November.

One of the write-ins to receive the fax, Dana Point attorney John Adams, said Tuesday he did not know whether he would support Kline’s request because the ballot then would not reflect the will of some voters.