(a)  “Voter-nominated office” means a congressional or state elective office for which a candidate may choose to have his or her party preference or lack of party preference indicated upon the ballot. A political party or party central committee shall not nominate a candidate at a state-conducted primary election for a voter-nominated office. The primary conducted for a voter-nominated office does not serve to determine the nominees of a political party but serves to winnow the candidates for the general election to the candidates receiving the highest or second highest number of votes cast at the primary election. The following offices are voter-nominated offices:

(1) Governor.

Terms Used In California Elections Code 359.5

  • candidate: includes any officeholder who is subject to a recall election. See California Elections Code 305
  • Election: means any election including a primary that is provided for under this code. See California Elections Code 318
  • General election: means either of the following:

    California Elections Code 324

  • Nominate: means the selection, at a state-conducted primary election, of candidates who are entitled by law to participate in the general election for that office, but does not mean any other lawful mechanism that a political party may adopt for the purposes of choosing the candidate who is preferred by the party for a nonpartisan or voter-nominated office. See California Elections Code 332.5
  • Party: means a political party or organization that has qualified for participation in any primary or presidential general election. See California Elections Code 338
  • Primary election: includes all primary nominating elections provided for by this code. See California Elections Code 341
  • Voter-nominated office: means a congressional or state elective office for which a candidate may choose to have his or her party preference or lack of party preference indicated upon the ballot. See California Elections Code 359.5

(2) Lieutenant Governor.

(3) Secretary of State.

(4) Controller.

(5) Treasurer.

(6) Attorney General.

(7) Insurance Commissioner.

(8) Member of the State Board of Equalization.

(9) United States Senator.

(10) Member of the United States House of Representatives.

(11) State Senator.

(12) Member of the Assembly.

(b) This section does not prohibit a political party or party central committee from endorsing, supporting, or opposing a candidate for an office listed in subdivision (a).

(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 3, Sec. 4. (AB 1413) Effective February 10, 2012.)

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