Jerry Rubin v. City of Santa Monica Maria M. Stewart, City Clerk Does 1-5, Inclusive, Bill Jones, Secretary of State

I. Overview

We are asked to decide whether the City of Santa Monica’s refusal to permit a candidate for the City Council to designate his occupation as “peace activist” on the city election ballot violates the candidate’s rights of free speech and equal protection. Because the ballot regulation prohibiting “status” designations is politically neutral and the City offers alternative channels of communication, we hold that the regulation does not severely burden a candidate’s First Amendment rights. The City’s interest in preserving the simplicity of its ballot is an important one, and the regulation is not unreasonable.

II. Factual Background

Jerry Rubin was qualified to run as a candidate for the Santa Monica City Council in the 2000 election. On August 11, 2000, Rubin hand-delivered his nomination papers for candidacy to the Santa Monica City Clerk, Maria Stewart. His filing included his “Candidate’s Statement” and his optional ballot designation of “peace activist.”

A Candidate’s Statement is a statement of 200 words or less published by the City of Santa Monica and dispersed to voters at the City’s expense, in which a candidate may describe his or her background,…