The primary elections in San Diego County provide voters with the opportunity to choose from all the candidates running for office without having to declare party affiliation. However, a candidate must receive at least 1% of the votes cast in the election to advance to the general election. In primary elections with two seats, a candidate's party preference is for informational purposes only and does not affect the administration of the election. If two or more candidates for the same office tie in the number of votes needed to be elected, a second election will be held to fill the position. In order to challenge a candidate's eligibility in San Diego County elections, an individual must file a petition with a district court with general jurisdiction in the territory in question.
The petition must include the reason for the challenge, as well as the signatory's name, address of residence, voter registration number (if applicable), and county of residence (if applicable). The signature of a candidate's petition is invalid if the signatory signed the petition after having signed the petition of another candidate for the same office in the same election. If an estimate or determination is made under subsection (e) that affects a candidate, they may challenge its accuracy by filing a petition before a district court. The request must specify which county or counties the recount is requested for and on behalf of which candidate, list of voters, or position with respect to a measure (affirmative or negative). The 25 people acting together must provide their name, address of residence, voter registration number (if authorization to obtain the recount is based on eligibility to vote in the election), and county in which they are registering (if the election covers a territory of more than one county).The method of counting votes in an automatic recount is the same method used in the election where there was a tie in voting.
In each electoral contest, a line will continue to be written for the voter to write the name of the candidate. The Senate and House of Representatives, state legislature, state partisan party positions such as governor, and partisan county positions such as county commissioner or treasurer are all subject to this process. The authority to which a request for participation in a general primary ballot is submitted under Article 172.022 shall use subsections (a) and (a) to determine whether a candidate meets the residency requirements for elective public office. Even in elections where only one or two candidates applied for partisan office, that race will continue to run in the primary elections.
