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Governor Gavin Newsom is not allowed to have his party affiliation on the recall ballot.
A judge yesterday denied the governor's request to put (D) next to his name on the upcoming recall ballot. Newsom was required to include his party preference in his reply to the recall petition last February but didn't. Sacramento Superior Court Judge James Arguelles wrote in his ruling Monday that the "circumstances do not justify excuse from the deadline."
It is clear, he wrote, "from both the text and the legislative history that SB 151 does not consider information about an elected officer's party affiliation so vital to voters that it must be included on the ballot."
One of his lawyers who dealt with the paperwork admitted he messed up. The special election date is set for September 14th.