The Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith has protested the ballot designation of a candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles as a “Christian businessman.”
David Lehrer, Western States Counsel of the ADL, questioned the legality of the ballot designation of Robert Fischer, Jr., a candidate for Mayor, in a letter to City Clerk Rex Layton. Lehrer advised Layton that the California State Elections Code explicitly forbids a ballot designation which “uses a word or words referring to a racial, religious, or ethnic group.”
Lehrer advised Layton that such designations were banned by the State Legislature because they imply “that the religious affiliation of candidates is somehow relevant to their competency for public office, a notion that should have been discarded long ago.”
“We at the ADL firmly believe that such designations are improper. We have called upon Layton to correct this error to insure that the ballots used in the voting booths on election day (April 14) will not contain this violation of California law,” Lehrer concluded.
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