Kunde

Elections Code 1 section 13305 permits the county central committee of a qualified political party to include a party contributor envelope or a one-page letter in the official mailing of the sample ballot sent to registered members of its own party in a direct primary election, provided that the central committee (1) pays all associated expenses; (2) does not include words critical of another political party; (3) provides a space for the name and address of the contributor; and (4) informs the contributor how contributions will be spent. In this appeal from a ruling on a petition for a writ of mandate filed shortly before the June 2008 direct primary election, we consider whether, as petitioner Thomas C. Kunde contends, the Republican Party of San Diego (the Party) should not have been permitted to include a one-page letter pursuant to section 13305 that—along with a request for contributions—contained electioneering materials stating the Party’s positions on various local election contests and one statewide ballot measure.

As we will explain, we agree with the trial court that section 13305 permits the inclusion of the electioneering materials proposed by the Party. We…