Those 3-word candidate bios on your ballot are more controversial than you might think

Probably the most-read information about candidates up for election this November are the words directly under their names on the ballot. It's called a "ballot designation," like a mini biography. These bios are especially important in races where there's not a lot of information about candidates, said retired election lawyer Fredric Woocher.

And they're often squabbled over in court. "People give a lot of thought into what to use," Woocher said of candidates' ballot designations. "And it is often subject to potential abuse."

Some candidates, Woocher said, "will try and come up with a phrase that they believe will be most appealing to the voters and secure the most votes regardless of whether it's the most accurate description of what they do."

The rules

Ballot designations are supposed to tell voters what the candidate does with the majority of their time and/or how they make a living. Candidates have to do it in three words, although "words," in this particular area of state election law, has a bit of a different meaning — all geographies are considered one word. (For example, "City of Hermosa Beach" is considered one word.)

California has lengthy rules about what candidates can and can't say about themselves in those three words. Here are a few of them:

• "Retired" might be OK, but only if the candidate has permanently given up their job or vocation and hasn't taken up another one. 
• Candidates can't use words like "veteran," "scholar," "philanthropist," or "concerned citizen" to describe themselves because these words are considered a "status" under state election law, not a job. 
• Adjectives like "specialist," "leading," and "expert" are generally forbidden under state law because they might "suggest an evaluation of the candidate's qualifications, honesty, integrity, leadership abilities or character."  
• Candidates for judgeships on the ballot have to use their official titles, like "Deputy District Attorney" per a 2017 law. Previously, judicial candidates would list themselves as “violent crimes prosecutor,” “child molestation prosecutor,” or “domestic violence attorney” to grab voters’ attention. 

To figure out what to say about themselves in their ballot designation, candidates start with a worksheet that resembles a job application, including a list of references who can verify their work experience.

But despite all these rules, ballot designations frequently end up in court.

Some examples of challenges

The Orange County Registrar of Voters says it gets between eight and 25 legal challenges to candidates' ballot designations — and to other language on the ballot — each election cycle. Judges make the final call on whether or not a candidate's ballot bio is legal.

In one example from this election, Sarah Schneider, a city council candidate in San Clemente wanted to have "educator" below her name. Her challenger, Zhen Wu, took her to court, saying the term was misleading since Schneider doesn't work in a classroom but rather in a school library. Wu won and Schneider is listed as a "library media technician" on the ballot.

In another example, Victor Valladares, an activist in Huntington Beach, challenged City Council candidate Chad Williams' right to use "Navy SEAL Speaker" as his ballot designation. Valladares argued in his complaint that the bio was "false and misleading" because Williams is not currently a Navy SEAL and is actually a motivational speaker.

A judge agreed and ordered Williams to change his bio to just "speaker," but the candidate appealed and was allowed to keep "Navy SEAL Speaker" on the ballot. The appeal is still pending.

Williams defended the title in an interview with LAist, saying his speaking engagements are based on his prior military experience. "They're not inviting me out because I'm Chad Williams. They're inviting me out because I'm a Navy SEAL veteran," he said.

But Williams acknowledges that the words "Navy SEAL" carry cache. "It's a serious threat to my opponents because it's a very powerful ballot designation," he said.

Why applying the law is complicated

Woocher, the election lawyer, said deciding whether or not a ballot designation complies with state law is not an exact science. "A lot of these involve tough calls for the judges, to be honest with you, because people are so creative in what they try and come up with," he said.

A classic example of that creativity is the former Santa Monica city council candidate, Jerry Rubin. Santa Monica officials repeatedly refused to let Rubin use "peace activist" for his ballot designation. So Rubin tried something even more innovative — in 2003, he persuaded a judge to let him officially change his name to Jerry Peace Activist Rubin.

Rubin is not running in this election. But Wade Kelley, another candidate with an unusual ballot title is running for city council in Santa Monica.

Kelley, who frequently plays his guitar on Santa Monica’s 3^rd Street Promenade, told LAist in an email that he wanted his ballot designation to be “peaceful promenade protester, or Promenade, homeless advocate,” but was told those weren’t vocations under election law.

So, his designation on the ballot? "Guitar guy."