Congressional Candidate Files Lawsuit Over Election System

Even though she still remains in office, the race to replace Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice) has taken a twist. A candidate has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the state's new "top two" election system.

Michael Chamness of Venice declared his intention to run as a minor party candidate in the upcoming special election to replace Harman and filed a lawsuit last week claiming that he will be at a disadvantage because he will not be able to list his party affiliation on the ballot.

Under new state law, Chamness will have to identify himself as having "no party preference," because his "Coffee Party" is not recognized by the state.

Under the provisions of Proposition 14, the state only recognizes six official political parties: Democrat, Republican, American Independent, Green, Libertarian and Peace and Freedom. Chamness is affiliated with the Coffee Party, a two-year-old political group that started out on Facebook.

“It’s unjust to discriminate against a candidate like myself just because I’m not a Democrat or Republican,” Chamness said.

He filed the lawsuit against California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, a Democrat who also has said she intends to run in the special election to replace Harman in the 36th Congressional District, which includes Hermosa Beach.

Others also have said they plan to run in the race, including Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, who has been .

Harman earlier this month  to join a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.

Chamness unsuccessfully competed in the recent special election to replace the late state Sen. Jenny Oropeza in the state Senate's 28th District and complained about having to state that he had no party preference in that race as well.

“It’s unconstitutional, undemocratic, and just plain wrong to force any candidate to lie to voters,” said Gautam Dutta, an attorney representing Chamness.

That special election and another in the state Senate's 17th District were the first under the provisions of Proposition 14, the open primary law passed by voters in June 2010 that went into effect Jan. 1.

Under the new rules, if no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote, then the top two finishers in the primary will face each other in a general election, even if they are from the same party.

A federal judge in Los Angeles will hold a hearing March 21 on Chamness' request for a preliminary injunction to block implementation of the new rules.

"We filed this lawsuit in a large part to protect the voter's rights to know about the candidates and know what they stand for," Dutta said Thursday. "Under this new law, a lot of very imporatnt information is taken away from them."

Gov. Jerry Brown cannot call a special election until Harman leaves office and then he has 14 days to do so. Brown said earlier this month that he hopes the special primary election can be consolidated into a statewide election that he has requested for June.