Larry Elder sues California secretary of state in an effort to get on the recall ballot

Conservative talk radio host Larry Elder has sued Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, saying he was unfairly disqualified from running in the recall election aimed at ousting California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Weber’s office on Saturday released a list of 41 candidates who had turned in the necessary paperwork by the Friday deadline, and thus had qualified to be listed as a replacement candidate on Sept. 14.

Missing from the list was Elder, the 69 -ear-old radio personality who had already raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in support of his campaign.

Under a 2019 law, all gubernatorial candidates in California must release five years of tax returns. A letter sent to Elder and shared by the Secretary of State’s office says he did not qualify as a candidate.. It said Elder’s tax returns were redacted incorrectly.

Not only does Elder argue that redaction issues are an unfair reason for disqualification, he says his campaign wasn’t informed about the issue until late Sunday.

“I provided all tax returns as required, totaling over 300 pages,” Elder said in a statement. “Frankly, this action by the Secretary of State is not simply unfair and absurd but a dangerous and unconstitutional precedent.”

The lawsuit, filed in Sacramento Superior Court on Monday night, asks the judge to force Weber to include Elder on the recall ballot.

Elder argues that Weber has the authority, if not the duty, to fix any redaction errors for the public, and that the campaign has still not been informed of specific problems with the tax returns.

The suit also argues that the law only requires tax returns for candidates who wish to appear on a primary ballot, but that Weber has unilaterally decided to apply the requirement to the recall election.

Furthermore, Elder argues that, by excluding him, Weber is “effectively engaging in voter suppression.”

“Publication of the ballot pamphlet without the presence of a valid qualified candidate will result in irreparable injury to the voting public,” the lawsuit says. “Unless (Weber) is enjoined and restrained from allowing or causing to be published as part of the ballot materials a ballot without a valid qualified candidate, the voting public will suffer irreparable injury for which monetary compensation is inadequate.”

A spokeswoman for Weber said the office applies the same criteria to every candidate that seeks elected office.

”The Secretary of State’s Office issued a Notice to Candidates that included individuals that met the tax return disclosure filing requirements,” Jenna Dresner said in a statement. “That list did not include Mr. Elder and others that failed to comply with those requirements. This is the first election where the gubernatorial candidate tax disclosure law has been applied.”

The Secretary of State’s Office will certify the final list of candidates on Wednesday. Elder asked the court to take action before then to ensure he makes it on the ballot.

This story was originally published July 20, 2021 at 11:51 AM.