Rawls

Plaintiff Alexander E. Rawls was a would-be write-in candidate for Santa Clara County Sheriff at the March 5, 2002 Primary Election. He sued defendant Evonne Zamora, Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, seeking declaratory relief and a writ of mandate after defendant informed him that write-in votes for him would not be counted because his nomination papers showed that he did not meet the qualifications for office specified by Government Code section 24004.3 (requiring experience in law enforcement). The trial court rendered judgment for defendant, and plaintiff appeals. Given that the primary election has passed, the mandate aspect of plaintiffs action, which sought a judgment compelling defendant to count votes for plaintiff, is moot. Plaintiff concedes as much. But he urges that the declaratory relief aspect of the action is not moot because he (1) seeks a judgment declaring that section 24004.3 is unconstitutional, and (2) intends to run for sheriff in the future. “If a matter is of general public interest and is likely to recur in the future, a resolution of the issue is appropriate.” (Green v. Layton (1975) 14 Cal.3d 922, 925 [ 123 Cal.Rptr. 97 , 538 P.2d 225 ].)…