�

Law Office of Chad D. Morgan

��
Chad D. Morgan, Esq. SBN 291282
�� 1101 California Ave., Ste. 100
Corona, CA 92881
�� Tel: (951) 667-1927
�� Fax: (866) 495-9985
chad@chadmorgan.com
��
�� Attorney for Petitioner
Matt Woody
��
Superior Court of the State of California
��
for the County of Sacramento�
��
��� �
��� Matt Woody, Case No.:

��� Petitioner,
���
vs. Immediate Action Requested
��� Election Law Matter:
��� Rebecca Spencer in her official capacity as Priority Over All Civil Matters
Riverside County Registrar of Voters; CCP § 35; Elec. Code § 13314(a)(3)
��� Alex Padilla, in his official capacity as
Secretary of State; and
���
DOES 1 through 25, inclusive, Verified Petition for Alternative and/or
��� Peremptory Writ of Mandate;
Respondents; Complaint for Injunctive Relief
��� � [Elec. Code § 13314; CCP §§ 1085 & 526]�
��� Ken Calvert,

��� Real Party in Interest.

���
���
���
To the Honorable Judges of the Superior Court:
���
Petitioner Matt Woody, by this Verified Petition and Complaint for Injunctive
���
Relief, petitions this court for a Writ of Mandate and/or requests an Injunction directed to
���
Respondent and by this Petition alleges:
��� �

����
�
Verified Petition for Writ of Mandate�
Doc ID: 350495e9e0507d3b7ac34709cfc0d88d198b0c75
 �

�� PARTIES
�� 1. Petitioner Matt Woody is, and all relevant times, was a registered voter and elector in
�� California’s 42nd Congressional District. He is beneficially interested in this action because he is
�� a registered voter in the District and is authorized by statute to bring this action. (Elec. Code §
�� 13313, subd. (b)(1); see also Elec. Code § 13314; Code Civ. Proc. § 1086.)
�� 2. Respondent Rebecca Spencer (“Registrar of Voters”) is, and at all
�� relevant times mentioned in this Petition, was the Registrar of Voters for the County of Riverside.
�� In this role, she is the County’s elections official, and as such, she is charged by law with
�� administering elections in the county and is responsible for the printing of ballots, ballot
��� pamphlets, sample ballots, and other election materials in the county. The Registrar of Voters is
��� named in her official capacity in accordance with Elections Code section 13313, subdivision
��� (b)(3).
���
3. Respondent Alex Padilla (“Secretary of State”) is, and at all relevant times
���
mentioned in this Petition was, the California Secretary of State. He is the State’s elections
���
official, and as such, he is charged by law with administering elections for state offices and has a
���
ministerial duty to comply with the Elections Code when carrying out his duties. He is named as
���
Respondent in this action pursuant to Elections Code section 13314, subdivision (a)(4) and is
���
named in his official capacity only.
���
��� 4. The true names of Respondent DOES 1 through 25, inclusive, are unknown to Petitioner,

��� who therefore brings this action against DOES 1 through 25, inclusive, by such fictitious names
��� and will seek leave of this Petition to show their true names, identities, and capacities when they
��� have been ascertained.
��� 5. Real Party in Interest Ken Calvert is the United States Representative for
��� California’s 42nd Congressional District and is running for reelection in the June 5, 2018 primary
��� election. Attached as Exhbit A is a true and correct copy of the candidate statement Calvert
��� submitted to appear in the sample ballot in connection with the primary election. This candidate
��� statement is the subject of this action, and Calvert is named as Real Party in Interest in

����
�
Verified Petition for Writ of Mandate�
Doc ID: 350495e9e0507d3b7ac34709cfc0d88d198b0c75
 �

�� accordance with Elections Code section 13313, subdivision (b)(3).

�� JURISDICTION AND VENUE
�� 6. Petitioner is authorized to bring this action, because he is an elector in California’s 42nd
�� Confressional District. (Elec. Code § 13313, subd. (b)(1).)
��
7. Elections Code section 13313 authorizes a writ of mandate or injunction to correct
��
“material in [a candidate statement that] is false, misleading, or inconsistent with the
��
requirements of [the Elections Code].” (Elec. Code § 13313, subd. (b)(2).)
��
�� 8. This lawsuit is timely filed within the 10-day public examination period provided in the

��� Elections Code for the purpose of permitting judicial review of candidate statements. (Elec. Code
��� § 13314, subds. (a)-(b)(1).)
��� 9. Pursuant to Elections Code section 13314, subdivision (b), the Sacramento County
��� Superior Court is the exclusive venue for this action because the California Secretary of State is
��� named as Respondent.
���
10. The relief sought is within the jurisdiction of this Court.
���
���
First Cause of Action
��� Writ of Mandate (Code Civ. Proc.§ 1085; Elec. Code § 13314)
Candidate Statement
���
11. Petitioner realleges and incorporates by reference each preceding paragraph.
���
��� 12. Elections Code section 13307 allows candidates to submit a statement that includes the

��� “name, age, and occupation of the candidate and a brief description, of no more than [250]
��� words, of the candidate’s education and qualifications expressed by the candidate himself or
��� herself.” (Elec. Code § 13313, subd. (a)(1); see also Elec. Code § 13107.5 [word limit for
��� Congressional candidates is 250 words].)
��� 13. During the 10-day examination period, any voter may seek a writ of mandate to delete any
��� material that is “false, misleading, or inconsistent with the requirements of [the Elections
��� Code].” (Elec. Code § 13313, subd. (b)(2).)

����
�
Verified Petition for Writ of Mandate�
Doc ID: 350495e9e0507d3b7ac34709cfc0d88d198b0c75
 �

�� 14. Ken Calvert’s candidate statement is inconsistent with the requirements of the Elections
�� Code because it has more than 255 words. Petitioner is informed and believes that the Registrar of
�� Voters accepted Calvert’s statement has having only 248 words. Petitioner is further informed
�� and believes that the Registrar of Voters misapplied Elections Code section 9, which allows some
�� phrases to count as one word, to help Calvert bring his statement under the applicable word limit.
�� 15. Based on notations on the face of the statement, Petitioner is informed and believes that
�� the Registrar of Voter’s first counted 260 words for Calvert’s statements. After making
�� adjustments, they reduced it to 253 words. With more adjustments he helped Calvert construe
�� his statement as having 248 words.
���
16. When correctly counted, Calvert’s statement has 255 words.
���
��� 17. The following hyphenated words, which were counted as one word, should be counted as

��� two words because they do not “appear in any generally available standard reference dictionary,
��� published in the United States at any time within the 10 calendar years immediately preceding the
��� election for which the words are counted”: job-killing, red-tape, and government-run. (Elec.
��� Code § 9, subd. (a)(5).) Correctly counting these hyphenated-words would add three words to
��� the Registrar’s count.
��� 18. The following phrases, which were counted as one word, should be counted as separate
��� words because there is no justification for counting these separate words as one word: “global
��� economy,” “rule of law,” and “terrorist groups.” Correctly counting these phrases would add
��� four words to the Registrar’s count.
���
19. Petitioner does not have an adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law. Indeed, a writ
���
of mandate or injunctive relief is Petitioner’s exclusive remedy to prevent the Real Party in
���
Interest’s candidate statement from being printed in elections materials with false or misleading
���
information or statements that are inconsistent with the Elections Code. (Elec. Code § 13313.)
���
���
���

����
�
Verified Petition for Writ of Mandate�
Doc ID: 350495e9e0507d3b7ac34709cfc0d88d198b0c75
 �

�� 20. The issuance of a timely peremptory writ of mandate or injunction will not substantially
�� interfere with the conduct of the election because Respondent has ample time to correct and print
�� ballot pamphlets as necessary prior to the June 5, 2018 primary election.
�� 21. This action is filed within the 10-day public review period. (See Elec. Code § 13313].) To
�� this end, the Legislature contemplated that challenges filed during this time frame could be
�� resolved without interfering with the conduct of the election.
�� 22. Petitioner does not have a plain, speedy, or adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law
�� because Petitioner is entitled to judicial review, and this Petition for Writ of Mandate is the
�� appropriate procedure to do so.
���
���
PRAYER FOR RELIEF
��� Wherefore, Petitioner prays that the Court:
��� 1. Issue an Alternative Writ of Mandate ordering that Respondent delete Calvert’s
��� statement because it violates the Elections Code, or in the alternative, delete portions of
��� Calvert’s statement such that it complies with the 250-word limitation;
��� 2. Award Petitioner his attorneys’ fees and costs reasonably incurred herein; and
��� 3. For such other and further relief as the Court deems proper.
���
��� Respectfully Submitted,
DATE: March 19, 2018
Law Office of Chad D. Morgan
���
���
By:
��� Chad D. Morgan Esq.
Attorney for Petitioner
��� Matt Woody
��� �
� �
���
���
���
03/19/2018
���

����
�
Verified Petition for Writ of Mandate�
Doc ID: 350495e9e0507d3b7ac34709cfc0d88d198b0c75
 �

VERIFICATION
��
I, Matt Woody declare that I am the Petitioner in the above-entitled action. I have read
��
the foregoing Verified Petition for Alternative and/or Peremptory Writ of Mandate;
��
Complaint for Injunctive Relief and know the contents thereof to be true to my own knowledge,
��
except as to those statements made upon information and belief, and as to them, I believe them to
��
be true.
��
��
I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the
��
foregoing is true and correct.
��
���
Executed on March 19, 2018.
���
���
_____________________________
��� Matt Woody, Petitioner
�
���
���
���
���
���
���
���
���
���
���
���
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���

����
�
Verified Petition for Writ of Mandate�
Doc ID: 350495e9e0507d3b7ac34709cfc0d88d198b0c75
 Exhibit A

EXHIBIT
A

EXHIBIT A

Doc ID: 350495e9e0507d3b7ac34709cfc0d88d198b0c75

Doc ID: 350495e9e0507d3b7ac34709cfc0d88d198b0c75
 Audit Trail

TITLE Hello

FILE NAME 1521492220-Petiti...te.pdf-1521492222

DOCUMENT ID 350495e9e0507d3b7ac34709cfc0d88d198b0c75

STATUS Completed

This document was requested and signed on lexicata.com

03/19/2018 Sent for signature to Matt Woody (matt@woody2018.com) from

20:44:29 UTC chad@chadmorgan.com
IP: 172.116.239.114

03/19/2018 Viewed by Matt Woody (matt@woody2018.com)

20:51:31 UTC IP: 66.133.194.130

03/19/2018 Signed by Matt Woody (matt@woody2018.com)

20:57:18 UTC IP: 66.133.194.130

03/19/2018 The document has been completed.

20:57:18 UTC