by Kevin Akin; this article was originally published in Partisan issue no. 25, printed May 2008.

Gerald Frink is asking voters to ignore his name on the ballot, and write in another man's name for the same office. Frink and his friend C.T. Weber are setting up a challenge to a restrictive California law that has made it impossible for smaller parties to nominate anyone for most offices by write-in.

A recent amendment to the California Constitution says that the person who gets the most votes for an office in the primary gets listed on the ballot in November. This conflicts with an older law that requires that a write-in candidate get 1% of the number of votes cast for the office in a previous election, a number that is actually more than the number of voters in the party in the district in most cases.

In Sacramento's 9th Assembly District, Frink is the only person listed on the Peace and Freedom ballot. He is asking voters to write in the name of CT Weber on the line under the one with Frink's printed name, and to be sure to mark next to Weber's written-in name. Mailings are being sent to P&F voters in the district, and some door-to-door work is also being done. The P&F State Central Committee has endorsed the effort.

If Weber gets more votes than Frink, the Secretary of State cannot recognize Frink as the winner, but will probably refuse to put Weber on the ballot, even if he is the clear winner. Next stop: a courtroom.

If successful, this expansion of ballot access will enable the party to run more candidates in 2010.