Cal. Elections Code - ELEC § 6040. Section 6040.
This article shall apply to the designation of candidates by the Secretary of State for placement only on the presidential primary ballot.
ARTICLE 3. Selection of Candidates by the Secretary of State [6040. - 6043.]
Cal. Elections Code - ELEC 3.
in effectCal. Elections Code - ELEC § 6041. Section 6041.
The Secretary of State shall place the name of a candidate upon the presidential primary ballot when the Secretary of State has determined that the candidate is generally advocated for or recognized throughout the United States or California as actively seeking the nomination of the Democratic Party for President of the United States. The Secretary of State shall include as criteria for selecting candidates the fact of qualifying for funding under the Federal Elections Campaign Act of 1974, as amended.
On or before the 88th day preceding a presidential primary election, the Secretary of State shall publicly announce and distribute to the news media for publication a list of the selected candidates that the Secretary of State intends to place on the ballot at the following presidential primary
election.
Cal. Elections Code - ELEC § 6042. Section 6042.
When the Secretary of State decides to place the name of a candidate on the ballot pursuant to Section 6041, he or she shall notify the candidate that the candidate’s name will appear on the ballot of this state in the presidential primary election.
The secretary shall also notify the candidate that the candidate may withdraw his or her name from the list of recognized candidates by
filing with the Secretary of State an affidavit pursuant to Section 6043 no later than the 68th day before the presidential primary election.
Cal. Elections Code - ELEC § 6043. Section 6043.
If a selected candidate or an unselected candidate files with the Secretary of State, no later than the time specified in Section 6042, an affidavit stating without qualification that he or she is not now a candidate for the office of President of the United States, and stating that similar documents, also without qualification, have been or will be timely filed, where applicable, with the appropriate public election official in all other states holding open presidential primaries, that candidate’s name shall be omitted from the list of names certified by the
Secretary of State to the county elections officials for the ballot and his or her name shall not appear on the ballot.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026