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Elections volunteer Judy Moon extracts ballots from mail-in envelopes in Martinez on Oct. 31, 2020. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters.

Rich Kinney readily concedes: Making it onto Californias November election ballot is a miracle.

The 66-year-old associate pastor and former mayor of San Pablo in the Bay Area is running to unseat Democratic Assemblymember Buffy Wicks out of staunch opposition to her support for abortion rights.

What did it take for him to make the Nov. 8 ballot? Only about 60 signatures to qualify as a Republican write-in candidate for the June 7 primary, and a mere 37 votes to finish in the top two.

Wicks won 85,180.

Kinney, the only other official candidate in the Assembly District 14 primary, said the write-in process allows newcomers a chance to move forward without the challenges of fundraising against an incumbent.

Going around my district and trying to get funding was ridiculous. No one wants to give funding to a campaign thats not going to get out the gate, he told CalMatters.

While some candidates might spend millions of dollars or months campaigning, Californias top-two primary system means that in races with only one other candidate, its possible for a write-in candidate to sneak into second place with very little support.

For the June 7 primary, state Assembly and state Senate candidates needed as few as 40 people to sign nomination papers to qualify as write-in candidates. And no matter how few votes they won, as long as they finished in second, they advanced to the November election.

This year, Kinney wasnt the only one to win fewer than 50 votes and make it onto the ballot. Thomas Edward Nichols, a Libertarian running against Republican incumbent Jim Patterson of Fresno in Assembly District 8, made it with just 15 votes. Mindy Pechenuk, a Republican in Assembly District 18, advanced to a matchup with Oakland Democrat Mia Bonta with just 31.

In total, nine write-in candidates moved on to the general election in state Assembly races, and two for state Senate seats.

But while getting onto the ballot is one feat, winning the race is another. Its a reality that Kinney acknowledges.

I really understand that its next to impossible to be able to unseat a sitting Democrat in the Legislature, said Kinney, who ran unsuccessfully for state Assembly in 2014 and for state Senate in 2016. But weve got to put up a good fight anyway. Its important that voters who care about the decency of life have an opportunity to rally together and say so.

Christian Grose, academic director of the USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy, said while its a quirk of the election system that write-in candidates can make it to the ballot with so little support, its not necessarily a problem caused by the top-two primary system or by the write-in process.

Its the lack of serious competition from formal Republican and Libertarian candidates, he said. Basically, its the lack of organized challengers thats the problem.

Because of the write-ins, only two candidates for 100 legislative seats have a free pass on the Nov. 8 ballot: Republican Assemblymember Vince Fong of Bakersfield and Democratic Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer of Los Angeles. (Democrat Giselle Hale, mayor of Redwood City, withdrew last week for the open Assembly District 21 seat in Silicon Valley, but her name will still appear on the ballot with Diane Papan, a San Mateo City Council member and now the only active candidate.)

The write-in process was established in California in 1911 as part of the Progressive Era political reforms, according to Alex Vassar, communications manager at the California State Library.

Prior to that, political parties would hand out tickets to voters essentially filled-out ballots.

One of the major goals was to empower individual voters and weaken the political machines, and give voters the ability to make separate decisions in each election contest. California adopted what was called the Australian ballot, which was essentially the modern secret ballot that we know and love today, Vassar said.

Only a handful of write-in candidates have won either legislative or congressional seats in the last century. Vassar said it was beyond rare in 1930, 1936, 1944, 1958 and 1982.

When U.S. Rep. C. F. Curry died in office in October 1930, his son, C. F. Curry Jr., won the seat the next month as a write-in, defeating a Republican, a Democrat, and two independents. When Assemblymember Lee Bashore died in September 1944, he had already won both the Republican and Democratic nominations. Three write-in candidates ran, and Ernest R. Geddes was elected with 45.9% of the vote, according to Vassar.

It lets people onto the playing field, but not onto one of the teams, said Thad Kousser, a professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego. It allows candidates entry, but then places a mountain to climb still for write-in candidates.

Even if the write-in candidates are political unknowns, it creates more competition for the general election, Grose said.

Its probably a nuisance for these incumbents who will probably win, he said. Theyre going to do a little more work, and thats not so bad.

In an April meeting of the Santa Monica Democratic Club, state Sen. Ben Allen acknowledged that to keep his seat, he had to beat a write-in candidate Kristina Irwin.

She seems like a very nice person who watches way too much Fox News, and shes just kind of, like, adopted all the crazy Republican conspiracy theories, Allen said at the event, according to the Santa Monica Daily Press. He added that being pushed to campaign more aggressively would be a good thing.

Irwin won 6,260 votes in the primary far more than the 213 earned by another write-in candidate in that race, but 159,000 votes fewer than Allen.

In Orange County, write-in candidate Leon Sit, a 19-year-old engineering student at UCLA, advanced to the general election with 551 votes from Orange and San Bernardino counties.

That result reinforces that the voice of each and every voter matters, that every vote counts, Orange County Registrar of Voters Bob Page said in an email. From an election operations standpoint, Page said the write-in process does not create any additional work or challenges.

Sen. Ben Allen has taken at least $583,000 from the Finance, Insurance & Real Estate sector since he was elected to the legislature. That represents 14% of his total campaign contributions.

Sit said he used social media to gather support, and was also interviewed by local reporters, which increased his name recognition.

Still, he said, statistically the political winds are not in the favor of a challenger like me. And if he somehow beats Republican Phillip Chen, he might have to cut back on his course load or even take a break from school.

I didnt come into this to be a legislator, Sit said. I did it to give the district a choice between two candidates, even if one of those candidates was a 19-year-old college student.

Nichols, who is up against Patterson, won a spot on the November ballot with even fewer votes, just 15. Like Sit, he knows unseating the incumbent is a long shot.

Patterson has been in the Legislature since 2012, The district, which encompasses the Central Valley and parts of the Sierra Nevada, is largely Republican.

Still, Nichols said he was motivated to run to get the Libertarian Partys message before voters and to raise the issues he sees in his local community, especially the increased cost of living due to fire threats specifically, homeowner and property insurance.

Nichols says hes glad the write-in process exists and that it could give voters a way to think outside of the duopoly that dominates our political culture.Ive got to say, I really appreciate the fact that an engineer up here in the foothills could wind up on the ballot going after an incumbent, he said. Im satisfied with the democratic process in that respect.

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CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

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Is It Too Easy for Write-In Candidates in California Elections? - Lost Coast Outpost

As someone involved in healthcare (public and private) since the 70s, I have written so many columns about Georgias lame response to COVID that it is hard to determine where to start. But I will give it the old school try, starting with the misconception spread by libertarians that we have done a good job on COVID prevention in Georgia. We have not.

First, it would be good to understand how COVID spread across the U.S.

It first hit the U.S. with a vengeance in high population-density blue areas like New York and California. So, at the beginning, cases and deaths were much higher in these Democrat-controlled areas. But that changed as the pandemic spread.

And, as opposed to other nations, COVID became a political issue in the U.S.

Democrats thought President Donald Trump was doing a horrible job of controlling the pandemic. Republicans trusted that he was doing well and believed Trumps claim that rising case numbers were only due to more testing. Objective studies now prove that the U.S. did much more poorly than other democracies. A report in Infection Control Today notes that the data does show that the United States is below average in the world and among the worst in the developed and high-income nations.

By September of 2021, death rates were much higher in red counties. Per one objective study, the coronavirus death rate among the 20% of Americans living in counties that supported Trump by the highest margins in 2020 was about 170% of the death rate among the 1-in-5 Americans living in counties that supported Biden by the largest margins.

And that trend continues to this day, including in Georgia. Compare socialist Vermonts cases (12 per 100,000) with Georgia (35 per 100,000). Then look at vaccinations: Georgia- only 57% fully vaccinated (with about 40% of them boosted) versus Vermont at 82% (63% of them boosted). So, more people are getting it here and they are sicker when they do. The question is why?

The answer is that in our nation and state populist politics has gotten in the way of modern healthcare practices.

In February and March of 2020, our nation and states were in crisis mode, although CDC guidance was hamstrung both by politics and general incompetence. Many states, particularly the blue ones, began taking strong actions on their own to control the spread.

But it took until April 2 that year for Gov. Brian Kemp to eventually get around to issuing a shelter in place executive order, finally joining 42 other states that had already done so. Local Georgia Boards of Health are virtually powerless to act under state law (and they still are).

So, counties and cities must take action when the state does not.

The Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) model ordinance declared a much-broader public health state of emergency. However, many local governments were also slow to act to approve it. For example, where I live in Peachtree City, the libertarian-oriented then-Mayor issued a very weak emergency order. Plus, it had numerous major holes in it compared to the GMA model. Among the shortcomings: restaurant in-dining was still permitted, and day care centers were still open, as were hair and nail salons, gyms, fitness centers, pools and so on.

So, the virus spread.

Due to lack of leadership by Kemp, Georgia is still behind the blue states and the nation regarding COVID measures. And he is getting way with it due to the destructive libertarian streak in the GOP and the failure of some of the media to point out our factual shortcomings.

What concerns me is that there are still non-healthcare people spreading misconceptions. There are still people incorrectly pointing to President Biden getting COVID (which has been like a cold for him because he was vaccinated and boosted) and saying that is proof the vaccinations dont work.

They ignore the fact that without the vaccine, he might have died.

In conclusion, please look at the data before saying measures like masking and vaccinations do not work. Ask healthcare professionals rather than believing talking heads.

Jack Bernard, a former health care executive, was the first director of health planning for Georgia. Hes a former chairman of the Jasper County Commission. Given events of late, he now describes himself politically as a former Republican.

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Opinion: Where Georgia blew it on COVID - The Atlanta Journal Constitution

New York City Mayoral Candidates Campaign On Last Day Before Primaries

Michael M. Santiago/Getty

On Wednesday, several former Republican and Democratic officials announced a new national political party the "Forward Party" to appease the growing number of voters who see America's two-party system as dysfunctional.

Speaking to Reuters, who exclusively broke the news, the party's leaders cited a Gallup poll last year showing a record two-thirds of Americans believe a third party is needed. The Forward Party will have centrist views, though specific policies have not yet been laid out.

To get running, the new third party is co-chaired by former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang and former Republican governor of New Jersey Christine Todd Whitman.

The party's official launch will be in Houston on Sept. 24. Party leaders also plan to hold a series of events around the nation this autumn to rally support, then host the party's first national convention in a major U.S. city next summer.

RELATED: More Than 100,000 Republicans Left the Party Since January, Registration Data Shows: Report

The new party is the result of three alternative political groups coming together. The merger involves the Renew America Movement, formed in 2021 by former officials in the Republican administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Donald Trump; the namesake Forward Party, founded by the formerly Democratic and independent Yang; and the Serve America Movement, led by former Republican Rep. David Jolly.

Though vague, the Forward Party aims to "reinvigorate a fair, flourishing economy" and to "give Americans more choices in elections, more confidence in a government that works, and more say in our future," Reuters reports.

RELATED: #WeCanDoBetter: 'Never Trump' Republicans Turn to Dreams of Drafting 'Adult' Third-Party Candidate

Third parties don't generally take off in America, given its deep-rooted two-party setup. But in today's hyper-politicized environment, it could certainly affect future elections and if history repeats itself, it may come at a cost to Democrats.

Story continues

In the infamous 2000 presidential election, Green Party candidate Ralph Nader got just enough support to strip Democratic nominee Al Gore of the win, handing Republican nominee George W. Bush the presidency. In 2016, Green Party's Jill Stein and Libertarian Party's Gary Johnson are partially credited with Donald Trump's victory over Hillary Clinton.

Understandably, Democrats are already expressing fear that Yang's new group will tamper with the fragile 2024 election.

If Forward succeeds at carrying out its goals, it will be on the ballot in all 50 states by late 2024, Reuters reports. In addition to looking at nominating someone for president in the next election, it will focus on elevating candidates for local, state and congressional elections.

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Andrew Yang to Lead New Political Party Aiming to 'Reinvigorate' Economy: What It Means for Future Elections - Yahoo! Voices

The Department of Justice is urging a federal judge to allow a lawsuit to proceed against the embattled Alabama town of Brookside, arguing there is evidence that town officials profited from hefty police fines and rising criminal cases.

Courts, prosecutors, and police should be driven by justicenot revenue, the DOJ stated in a brief filed Tuesday.

A class-action lawsuit one of more than a dozen lawsuits against the town alleges officials abused their power in issuing tickets, fining drivers and towing vehicles to raise revenue. But Brookside earlier this month asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit.

The DOJ filed its brief in support of the drivers.

Indeed, Brooksides overall funding scheme where the municipal courts generate significant funding for Brookside, which in turn funds those same courts appears from Plaintiffs allegations to create a starker conflict than those in other cases where courts have found due process violations, the brief states.

Carla C. Ward, an assistant U.S. Attorney for the northern district of Alabama, in the brief said that the federal government has an interest in protecting the publics constitutional rights and enforcing federal laws regarding the collection of unlawful fines and fees.

Brookside has been at the center of controversy since January when AL.com published an investigation that detailed how the towns police aggressively ticketed drivers while the municipal court collected fines and fees that accounted for half the towns revenue.

In Brookside, revenue from fines and fees increased more than 600 percent from 2018-20, with most of the money going back into the police department and municipal court.

The Justice Departments statement recognizes that Brooksides abusive system of policing for profit violates the Constitution, and that the town should be held accountable, said Jaba Tsitsuashvili, an attorney for the Institute for Justice, the libertarian non-profit that filed the class action lawsuit against Brookside. No one should live in fear of being ticketed, fined, or having their car towed for the sake of raising police revenue.

[Read more: Inside the remarkable rise and fall of Alabamas most predatory police force]

In its brief, the DOJ points out that Mark Parnell, the Brookside prosecutor, and Jim Wooten, the municipal judge, saw pay increases as the number of criminal cases rose during recent years.

Wootens salary increased 127 percent, from $8,800 in 2019 to $20,000 in 2021. Because court fines and fees help fund the town council, the brief says, the councils control over the appointment, tenure, and salary of the municipal judge undermines the municipal judges neutrality.

Parnells pay rose 241%, bringing his total pay last year from Brookside to $72,115. The prosecutor previously told AL.com his pay went up because he was spending more time in court due to the increasing caseload.

In short, the town attorney not only stands to profit economically from vigorous enforcement of Brooksides municipal codehe already has: the more cases he opts to prosecute, the more money he makes, the DOJ brief says.

Attorneys representing Brookside didnt respond to a request for comment before publication.

The Justice Departments statement recognizes that Brooksides abusive system of policing for profit violates the Constitution, and that the town should be held accountable, said Jaba Tsitsuashvili, an attorney for the Institute for Justice, the libertarian non-profit that filed the class action lawsuit against Brookside. No one should live in fear of being ticketed, fined, or having their car towed for the sake of raising police revenue.

[Read more from our Banking on Crime series]

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Feds side with drivers suing Alabama town, cite evidence of Brookside policing for profit - AL.com

New research provides evidence that antisemitic attitudes are far more prevalent on the political right in the United States. The study, published in Political Research Quarterly, indicates that prejudicial attitudes towards Jews is particularly strong among younger conservatives.

High profile incidents in the United States have raised concerns about the resurgence of antisemitism. While many of these incidents have been linked to the far right, other such incidents have been linked to left-wing groups. But the authors behind the new study observed that there was very little research into whether hatred toward Jews was more common among the far right or the far left.

This started with conversations with Laura Royden, a PhD student at Harvard and my co-author on three studies on this topic. A few years ago, popular books about antisemitism (by Bari Weiss and by Deborah Lipstadt) discussed antisemitism in the United States as coming from both the ideological left and right, explained study author Eitan D. Hersh (@eitanhersh), an associate professor of political science at Tufts University.

The authors had interesting anecdotes about left versus right antisemitism. But Laura and I noticed there wasnt much quantitative research about the relationship between political ideology and antisemitic attitudes. So we started working on a study that would capture different manifestations of anti-Jewish prejudice across the ideological spectrum. We focused the study on young people because past research had suggested that the young left and young right are hotbeds of antisemitism.

Using the polling company YouGov, the researchers surveyed 3,500 U.S. adults, including a representative oversample of 2,500 adults ages 1830, regarding their political ideology and attitudes towards Jews. Political ideology was measured using a 7-point scale. The respondents were also asked whether they identified as leftist, socialist, progressive, libertarian, Christian conservative, or alt-right.

The survey assessed subtler forms of prejudicial views (anti-Jewish double standards) as well as overtly antisemitic attitudes. For example, the respondents were asked to indicate the extent to which they agreed or disagreed with antisemitic statements such as Jews are more loyal to Israel than to America and Jews in the United States have too much power.

The researchers found evidence of an anti-Jewish double standard on the left. Those on the political left held Jewish Americans more responsible for the actions of Israel than they held Catholic Americans or Indian Americans responsible for the Vatican or India.

Additionally, 31% of very liberal respondents said Muslim Americans should denounce Muslim countries discrimination against non-Muslims, whereas 47% said that Jewish Americans should denounce Israels discrimination against non-Jews. Very conservative respondents showed an opposite pattern an anti-Muslim double standard.

However, Hersh and Royden found that young far-right Americans were seven times more likely to believe that Jewish Americans should be held to account for Israel compared to young far-left Americans.

Moreover, the researchers found that agreement with overtly antisemitic statements increased from left to right. Agreement with the statements was 2-3 times higher on the far right compared to the far left. Even when primed with information that most U.S. Jews have favorable views toward Israel a country disfavored by the ideological left respondents on the left rarely support statements such as that Jews have too much power or should be boycotted, the researchers noted.

In terms of ideology and antisemitism, we find that overt antisemitic attitudes are much more common on the young far right than the young far left, Hersh told PsyPost. The young right holds more prejudicial views than older conservatives as well as than liberals of all ages. On the left, we see some evidence of anti-Jewish double standards, where Jews are held to a different standard of accountability for a foreign country than are other minorities groups, such as Muslim Americans or Indian Americans. But the level of agreement with antisemitic claims is much higher on the right.

In this paper, we also briefly discuss a separate set of findings (which we dive into in a whole separate paper, under review) that, quite separate from an ideological effect, there is a big racial effect, Hersh added. Young Black and Hispanic Americans are as likely to agree to antisemitic statements as the White alt-right. Differences by racial group are apparent both among liberals and conservatives.

The researchers controlled for factors such as age, race, and education. But the study like all research includes some caveats.

We measured antisemitism in a few ways in the paper, but there are other ways to measure these prejudicial attitudes, Hersh explained. Some people have suggested to us that the young left and young right could have similar antisemitic views but the right is either more willing to say what they think than the left or they are more eager to agree to statements they know are anti-politically correct even if they dont really believe them. Obviously, lots can be going on beneath the surface of these findings. But we hope that this study helps re-orient research on this topic around careful, replicable social science.

We just released all the survey data if any other researchers want to look it over and write their own papers! https://dataverse.harvard.edu/dataverse/antisemitism

The study, Antisemitic Attitudes Across the Ideological Spectrum, was published June 25, 2022.

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Overt antisemitism is 2 to 3 times stronger on the American far right compared to the far left, study finds - PsyPost