Conservative radio host Larry Elder tweeted Monday that he will sue California Secretary of State Shirley Weber over his exclusion from the list of approved candidates over his alleged failure to provide income tax returns — which he says he did.
The Secretary of State sent a letter late Sunday informing us that I had not qualified for the ballot due to redaction issues with my income tax returns.
— Larry Elder (@larryelder) July 19, 2021
The Secretary of State spent the weekend talking to one reporter after another, telling them that candidates who did not qualify had been notified. They did not bother to contact my campaign until late Sunday afternoon, via email to my campaign manager.
— Larry Elder (@larryelder) July 19, 2021
Shortly thereafter, they shared the letter sent to my campaign manager with the media. Our lawyers tell us that no candidate has ever been previously disqualified due to redaction issues with income tax returns.
— Larry Elder (@larryelder) July 19, 2021
The Secretary of State is either saying that we did not redact sufficient info on my returns, or we redacted info that should not have been redacted.
— Larry Elder (@larryelder) July 19, 2021
The Secretary of State could have made the supposedly required redaction(s), but elected not to. We’re trying to ascertain the details.
— Larry Elder (@larryelder) July 19, 2021
Regardless, income tax returns are required under the election code to ensure “that its voters make informed, educated choices in the voting booth.” The redactions required on tax returns include items such as social security number, home address, telephone number, etc.
— Larry Elder (@larryelder) July 19, 2021
Should they not be redacted inadvertently, it would be an error that does not arise to a disqualifying factor. Furthermore, the Secretary of State could’ve made additional redactions if she determined my tax returns were insufficiently redacted.
— Larry Elder (@larryelder) July 19, 2021
A candidate should not be disqualified for missing a few redactions. Our campaign filed every piece of paper required by the Secretary of State in a timely fashion.
— Larry Elder (@larryelder) July 19, 2021
Finally, this also violates the equal protection clause of Art. I, § 7, of the California Constitution not to require Governor Gavin Newsom to comply with the same tax return disclosure requirement.
— Larry Elder (@larryelder) July 19, 2021
If the Secretary of State’s decision is not reversed, we will see them in court.
–Larry Elder https://t.co/mnvU6s5Wid— Larry Elder (@larryelder) July 19, 2021
The final list of candidates vying to replace incumbent Gov. Gavin Newsom will be released on July 21.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
