A San Francisco Superior Court judge today issued a tentative ruling denying a request to block the state from implementing the top two primary system created under Proposition 14.
A group of candidates and voters have filed a suit challenging the constitutionality of Senate Bill 6, legislation detailing the mechanics of the state's new "top two" primary. Under Proposition 14, approved by voters in the June primary, the two candidates who receive the most votes in an all-party primary will advance to a general election run-off.
The plaintiffs argue that several provisions in SB6 are unconstitutional, including language prohibiting write-in votes from being counted. They also argue that limiting a candidate's political affiliation on the ballot to listing a "preference" of a party recognized by the state or "no party preference" discriminates against candidates from minor parties that do not qualify for the ballot.
Judge Catherine Woolard wrote that while plaintiffs can proceed to a full trial, their arguments "fail to show a likelihood of success on the merits" to grant their motion for an injunction blocking the state from proceeding with implementing the new measure.
The judge will issue a final ruling after hearing oral arguments on the request. A hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. tomorrow.
This post was updated to fix a broken link.
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