By Gillian Brassil
California’s secretary of state asked a state appeals court to erase the ruling that let Assemblyman Vince Fong, R-Bakersfield, run for Congress for a two-year term to succeed retired Rep. Kevin McCarthy.
“Petitioner California Secretary of State Dr. Shirley N. Weber urgently requests a peremptory writ of mandate directing respondent Superior Court for the State of California, County of Sacramento, to vacate its ruling in Fong v. Weber,” read the petition filed Monday in California’s Third Appellate District.
The secretary of state’s office sent The Bee the petition for a writ of mandate, which is a document asking a higher court to demand a lower entity like a court or agency do or do not do something. A spokesman for the secretary, Joe Kocurek, confirmed Wednesday that Weber would still be filing an appeal in the case. The office filed a notice of appeal two weeks ago. This week’s action would be a quicker way of getting Fong disqualified than an appeal, which can be a lengthy process.
An attorney for Fong, Brian Hildreth, said Wednesday that “This is an unprecedented attempt by the secretary of state to disqualify the ballots of potentially tens of thousands of Central Valley voters.”
Read more at: Sacramento Bee