Top Two Turns Into a House Election Triple: Ballots & Boundaries

The voters have spoken, and they’re getting more choices. A northern California House district will list three names on the November ballot instead of two after an unusual tie in the all-party primary.

State Rep. Evan Low and county supervisor Joe Simitian both received 30,249 votes in the March 5 election, behind former San Jose mayor Sam Liccardo’s 38,489 votes, according to a final count. Under California law, the three Democrats will all be on the Nov. 5 ballot: “In no case shall the tie be determined by lot.”

“Call it a cliffhanger, a rollercoaster, a wild ride — but it has absolutely been worth the wait!” Simitian said.

Neither of the tied finishers had an incentive to request a recount after county election officials certified the totals yesterday in the 16th District, an overwhelmingly Democratic seat in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties where Rep. Anna Eshoo (D) didn’t seek re-election.

(Michael Bloomberg, the majority owner of Bloomberg Government’s parent company, donated $500,000 to a super PAC that’s supporting Liccardo’s House bid. Liccardo was California co-chair of Bloomberg’s 2020 presidential campaign.) — Greg Giroux

FLORIDA: Ballot Jolt
Both abortion and recreational cannabis will be on Florida’s November ballot, giving campaign strategists a lot to think about and plan for.

Bloomberg Law’s Celine Castronuovo looked ahead to the next batch of states where abortion ballot-issue campaigns are possible, and Alex Ebert probed the implications for embryos gaining legal rights.

Here are a few more takeaways from the court decision allowing both proposals to go to the electorate:

• Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is concerned about the smell of pot and predicts defeat “once voters figure out how radical both of those are.” — Tallahassee.com
• Democrats, who’ve elected just one statewide candidate in the past decade are newly energized. — Washington Post
• The abortion question is complicated — Politico

WISCONSIN: ‘Zuckerbucks’ Defeat
Wisconsin voters agreed to change the state’s constitution to prohibit clerks from using private grants to administer elections — the latest in a series of restrictions imposed across the country after Republicans complained that election officials were using outside money in ways that helped Democratic-leaning areas.

During the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, gave $350 million to the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL), a nonprofit that offered grants for pandemic-affected election operations nationwide.

In Wisconsin, where such grants were outlawed in this week’s statewide vote, the money was used for personal protective equipment and absentee ballot dropboxes, the Journal-Sentinel reported.

NEW MEXICO: Public Information
A state law that bans publication of voter registration data “severely burdens the circulation of voter data among the public” and violates federal law, a judge ruled in a victory for a group run by Arizona Republican Party Chair Gina Swoboda.

An appeal’s been promised in the clash between state officials who want to limit an avenue for potential voter intimidation and groups that want to take it upon themselves to try to find potential irregularities or fraud. — Associated Press

GEORGIA: Election Bill Sent to Governor
A bill awaiting the signature or veto of Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) would allow more challenges of voters’ eligibility — something supporters say would root out duplicate records and facilitate removal of voters who have moved out of state. Opponents warn of misuse of data and putting legitimate voters through a legal wringer. — Associated Press

Resources

• On Their Way: Shoo-in winners set up in districts with one-party dominance
• Our past coverage: BGOV Archive and BLAW Archive
• Tracking Departures in the US House and Senate
• Litigation Trackers: ABC News, Loyola Law School, and Brennan Center
• BGOV OnPoint: US House Election Landscape
• BGOV OnPoint: US Senate Election Landscape

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