BAKERSFIELD, Calif., (KGET) -- Assemblyman Vince Fong filed a lawsuit Friday challenging the secretary of state's ruling that he can't run for the 20th Congressional District, calling it a violation of state law and the U.S. Constitution.
"Emergency relief is needed to correct a substantial violation of state law by the California Secretary of State who is, at this moment, blocking a duly-qualified candidate for the United States House of Representatives from the March 5, 2024, primary ballot," says the suit filed in Sacramento County Superior Court.
A hearing is scheduled at 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 28 before Judge Shelleyanne W.L. Chang.
Last week, Secretary of State Shirley Weber determined Fong could not run for Congress because state law prohibits declaring candidacy for more than one office in the same election.
Fong had already declared he was running for reelection as an incumbent in the 32nd Assembly District. He initially said he would not run for the 20th Congressional District -- currently held by Bakersfield Congressman Kevin McCarthy -- but later had a change of heart.
Fong, in the lawsuit, says the secretary of state "cited a century-old statute that on its face applies only to 'independent candidate nominations,' a process that was long ago abandoned by the state in favor of its current 'top two' nomination process."
Fong adds, "Under the United States Constitution, deciding who runs and is elected to federal legislative office is a question only for the candidate, the voters and the legislative body itself."