You may have heard about the new California election law that requires presidential candidates to release their tax returns before they will be allowed on the primary ballot. While many have pointed out problems with this legislation, we’ll take a look at the actual Constitutional issues next, on The Constitution Study.
Primary Elections
Let’s start with the primary process. Most people think that the primary system is part of the election process. Sadly, they are a corruption of the process the political parties use to influence elections.
Political parties are private organizations; they are not strictly part of the election process. Primary elections are how those parties choose who they will recommend in the election. You may ask, “What’s the problem with that?” As far as I’ve described it, nothing really. The problem is the parties have used their influence to corrupt the election process.
First, we have states paying for private elections. Imagine your local business or charitable organization wanted to have an election. So they go to your state legislature to have them pay for it. Wouldn’t you find that a misuse of state funds? Why should the state pay to print the ballots, setup and staff polling sites, count the ballots, and pay for any and all costs related to the election? If we wouldn’t pay for other private entities’ elections, why do we pay for private political parties’ elections?
Second, by promoting the illusion that the role of political parties is to determine who shows up on the ballot, we have given them control of the election system. It’s almost universally believed that in any election your choices are only the candidates the parties have put on the ballot. Sure, most of us know you can “write in” a name, but we all know the election will be won by one of the parties’ candidates. That is not how elections in this country are supposed to work, and especially presidential elections. Citizens should be free to choose whomever they want for an elected position, not just who the parties propose. So when the state steps in to effectively restrict who you can vote for, they are effectively interfering with your right to vote. The sad part is, you CAN vote for whomever you want. However, human nature is to pick from a presented list, so that is what almost everyone does.
California’s Law
Where does the State of California get the authority to tell a private corporation who can and cannot participate in their elections? If the California state legislature wrote a law determining who could run for the board of the Red Cross, Green Peace, or Walmart, the people of the state would be up in arms. (Well, looking at the news coming out of California, they might not be up in arms over Walmart.) Yet nobody seems concerned when California makes it illegal to include someone who has not been convicted of a crime from being on the ballot for a position in a private organization.
Some have claimed this is a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Article II, since the reporting of private tax information is not a qualification to hold the office of President, but the truth is this law does not impact actual Presidential elections, only political primaries. Some have even claimed it’s a violation of the First Amendment’s freedom of association clause, but the First Amendment clearly states “Congress shall make no law… abridging the right… to peaceably assemble. Not only has Congress not passed this law, but it doesn’t prevent someone from assembling with others.
What this bill does violate is both the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Article I, Section 7 of the California Constitution, both of which state a person cannot be “deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law”. Yet here we have the State of California violating the liberty of someone to participate in an election for a private organization because they will not relinquish their Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable search and their Fifth Amendment right not to be a witness against themselves. Since there is no requirement that probable cause of a crime be found before demanding a private citizen turn over their private records, the only reason to request such information is so their opponents can wade through them, looking for some political dirt they can use in their campaign. Therefore, to ask someone to turn over private information to be used against them is to ask them to be a witness against themselves. Once again, for political gains California legislators are trashing both the state and federal Constitutions they swore to support. Citizens of California, is that who you are? You have specifically selected these people to represent you, to act as your agents in your name. So before any of you go complaining about Sacramento, look in the mirror and ask yourself what you have done to protect these Constitutions and the rights of your fellow citizens.
Conclusion
California SB-27 is not just bad law, it’s also illegal and unconstitutional on several levels. Sadly, since most Californians, not to mention Americans as a whole, know little if anything about their Constitution and the rights it protects, this criminal racket continues.
What can be done? First, it’s about time the American people stop funding the activities of these private clubs we call political parties with tax dollars. If they want to hold elections to select their nominee, let them pay for it themselves. Second, we should start demanding legislation that overturns the stranglehold these private organizations have over our election process, at all levels. You should not need to get permission from a private organization to run for an office as a public servant. Third, it’s about time the people of California learn to protect the rights of everyone, not just those who agree with the political viewpoints of their elected officials. In fact, if those in Sacramento acted more like public servants than elected overlords, maybe so many of their population wouldn’t be running to freer states.
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