Judge: Beverly Hills Mayor May Appear on June Ballot for Senate Seat

Originally posted at 2:03 p.m. March 21, 2014. Edited to add new details. An earlier version of this story said Mirisch's name appearing was a definite.  

Beverly Hills Mayor John Mirisch may appear on the June ballot in his bid for the open 26th Senate District seat -- if 40 valid signatures on his nominating papers can be verified, a judge in Sacramento ruled today.

Los Angeles County election officials had earlier notified Mirisch that his name would not appear on the ballot because they could not accept candidacy papers submitted by fax.

The Beverly Hills Courier reported tonight the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk has rejected 12 of the 49 signatures on Mirisch's nominating papers, with five signatures rejected because the home address information was filled out by the signature gatherer, not the signee.

A review of the signatures is set for Monday at the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's headquarters in Norwalk, with Republican Party representatives allowed to comb through the rejected signatures to find which ones were rejected, The Courier reported.

Another court challenge is possible, according to The Courier.

Mirisch was contacted by state Republican leaders last week on the eve of March 12 deadline to file for the seat because no other Republican had, according to The Courier.

Mirisch, who was in Washington for the National League of Cities Congressional Conference, faxed his campaign papers to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk March 12, then sent them by overnight mail and they were received the following day.

Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean C. Logan notified Mirisch that Secretary of State Debra Bowen would not allow Logan to accept Mirisch's faxed candidacy papers, despite Logan's willingness to do so, according to the lawsuit filed in Sacramento County.

Both Bowen and Logan routinely accept election documents by fax or uploading, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit was filed in Sacramento because the court has jurisdiction over election matters, according to the Sacramento-based legal firm of Bell, McAndrews & Hiltachk, LLP, which is representing Mirisch.

Bowen, Logan and 100 unidentified individuals were defendants in the suit.

The 26th Senate District covers portions of the Westside and South Bay. The seat is being vacated by Sen. Ted Lieu, who is running for the congressional seat of retiring Rep. Henry Waxman.

--City News Service