San Diego, CA. - Late Friday Superior Court Judge Ronald Styn ordered County Registrar Michael Vu “take all actions necessary to ensure that the Full Voter Participation Act (FVPA) of 2018 appears on the county’s ballot for the November 6, 2018 election.”
The move stunned many politicos who assumed the County Board of Supervisors action to not have the measure appear on the November ballot was final.
Styn was appointed to the bench in 2000 by Governor Gray Davis.
If passed by voters, the FVPA would do the same thing for the county that Measures K and L did for the City of San Diego in 2016, having all elections decided when voter turnout is highest, in November.
Currently in the county, candidates can win their races outright in primary elections if they get more than 50 percent of the vote. Measures K and L eliminated that possibility for candidates and measures in the city.
This June, Republicans did in fact win races by getting more than 50 percent. Candidates for sheriff, assessor and district attorney all won their respective races without having to be forced into a runoff in November.
IVN San Diego has covered the battle that's seen emergency petitions, a retroactive rewrite, and threats from the ACLU.
IVN San Diego has reached out to County Supervisor Kristin Gaspar's office for comment.
Some have argued the FVPA could have big impacts the 2020 District 3 Supervisor race.
The thinking goes that by forcing Supervisor Kristin Gaspar to the November General election, where more people vote than the June primary, she will be vulnerable. Democrats have control of the City Council and are looking to do the same at the county.