From: Joe Dehn <nac@ca.lp.org>
Date: Fri, Aug 15, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Subject: LP activism alert - court hearing in "Top Two" case
To: <northaffiliated@ca.lp.org>
Cc: <northunaffiliated@ca.lp.org>
A hearing has been scheduled for 9:00am *Friday 22 August* (that's one week
from today) in the suit to overturn the "Top Two" primary system. This
hearing will be held at the federal courthouse located at 450 Golden Gate
Avenue, *San Francisco* - 19th floor, courtroom 7.
Plaintiffs in the suit are several political parties, including the
Libertarian Party, and several candidates from those parties, including
Libertarians Gail Lightfoot (candidate for U.S. Senate) and Joe Dehn
(candidate for U.S. House). The defendant is the California Secretary of
State.
According to ballot access expert Richard Winger, judges have been known to
take arguments in a case more seriously when they see a lot of people
demonstrating interest by showing up at a hearing. So having a significant
number of LP members attending this hearing could help.
*If you live or work reasonably close to San Francisco, please consider
attending this hearing. And if you have a way that you usually contact
members in your county (e.g. by e-mail or some social media channel, please
consider passing this information along to them that way.*
The location is close to the Civic Center BART station. Winger
advises getting there early, because it will take time to get through
courthouse security (metal detectors). Probably best to aim for 8:00am.
For those going by car, there is parking available in nearby garages. If
multiple people are interested in going from your county, some sort of
carpooling might make sense (and you might want to offer to help arrange
that in your message to your members)..
*You can find more information about this suit and hearing at:*
Three California Minor Parties File Federal Lawsuit Against Top-Two System |
California Files Brief in Federal Lawsuit Over Top-Two System |
U.S. District Court Hearing in San Francisco, in Lawsuit Against California Top-Two System |
--
*Joe Dehn*
*Northern Area Coordinator*
*Libertarian Party of California*
*nac@ca.lp.org <nac@ca.lp.org>*