Article 2. Qualification Of Candidates For Presidential Preference Portion Of Primary Ballot of California Elections Code >> Division 6. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 4. >> Article 2.

The Secretary of State shall place the name of a candidate upon the Peace and Freedom Party presidential preference ballot when the Secretary of State has determined that the candidate is generally advocated for or recognized throughout the United States or California as actively seeking the presidential nomination of the Peace and Freedom Party or the national party with which the Peace and Freedom Party is affiliated.

On or before the 150th day preceding a presidential primary election, the Secretary of State shall send a letter by first-class mail to the Chairpersons of record of the Peace and Freedom Party State and County Central Committees, informing them that, while a response is not required, any information they wish to submit will be considered by the Secretary of State in the determination of candidates to be placed on the Peace and Freedom Party presidential preference primary ballot pursuant to Section 6720.

On or before the 120th day preceding a presidential primary election, the Secretary of State shall publicly announce and distribute to the news media for publication a list of the candidates she or he intends to place on the ballot at the following presidential primary election. Following this announcement, the Secretary of State may add to her or his selection, but she or he may not delete any candidate whose name appears on the announced list. The Secretary of State shall mail a copy of the list and any subsequent additions thereto to the Chairpersons of the Peace and Freedom Party State and County Central Committees.

When the Secretary of State decides to place the name of a candidate on the ballot pursuant to Sections 6720 and 6722, the Secretary of State shall notify the candidate that her or his name will appear on the Peace and Freedom Party presidential preference primary ballot of this state, but that a committee must be formed, delegates certified, and a petition filed pursuant to this chapter in order to have her or his name appear on the delegate selection portion of the presidential primary ballot. The Secretary of State shall also notify the candidate that she or he may withdraw her or his name from the ballot by filing with the Secretary of State an affidavit pursuant to Section 6724, no later than the 68th day before that election.

If a selected candidate or an unselected candidate files with the Secretary of State, no later than the 68th day before the presidential primary, an affidavit stating without qualification that she or he is not a candidate for the office of President of the United States at the forthcoming presidential primary election, the name of that candidate shall be omitted from the list of names certified by the Secretary of State to the elections official for the ballot and the name of that candidate shall not appear on the presidential preference portion of the primary ballot.

Any unselected candidate desiring to have her or his name placed on the presidential preference primary ballot without filing a group of candidates for delegates, shall have nomination papers circulated on her or his behalf. In order to qualify the name of that candidate for placement on the presidential preference primary ballot, the nomination papers of the candidate shall be signed by voters registered as affiliated with the Peace and Freedom Party equal in number to not less than 1 percent of the number of persons registered as members of the Peace and Freedom Party as reflected in the report of registration issued by the Secretary of State on the 135th day preceding the presidential primary election.

Whenever a group of candidates for delegates pledged to a particular presidential candidate qualifies by petition for the national convention delegate selection portion of the presidential primary ballot, the name of the presidential candidate to whom the group is pledged shall automatically be placed on the presidential preference portion of the ballot, without the filing of a separate petition for the presidential preference portion of the ballot.