Most general election ballot in most American states has a write-in line at the bottom. It is unglamorous and rarely used, but it exists as a fallback when the primary produces a result the broader electorate can’t work with. (For example, Bernie Sanders scored more than five percent of the popular vote in Vermont, 2016.)

California removed that line a decade ago. Now that decision appears to be looking like a serious mistake. Under Proposition 14, passed in 2010, California holds a “top two” open primary. Every candidate runs on the same ballot regardless of party, and the two highest vote-getters advance to November. Minor parties challenged this immediately on First Amendment grounds. In Rubin v. Padilla, the courts upheld the system on the basis, among many, that “…the failure of minor-party candidates to appear on the general election ballot does not substantially burden their members’ rights of political association and expression“, and, to quote directly, “…candidates have no right to appear on the general election ballot merely because they have made a showing of significant public support.“

Alongside that, attached as a statue ostensibly to service the primary’s rules, banned write-in eligibility from the general election for statewide offices. “A person whose name has been written on the ballot as a write-in candidate at the general election for a voter-nominated office shall not be counted.” The reasoning was quite suspect, so much so that the Los Angeles Times ran a full opinion piece on whether it wasn’t “by accident” that they were removed. At the time these provisioned seemed beneficial to the Democratic Party, causing a certain Republican embroiled in scandal to not be able to drop out, etc.

This victory lap may return to haunt the Democrats, as recent events have proved your victories today may be your future defeats, potentially in a quite hilarious manner, as now California has eight serious Democratic candidates running for governor: Xavier Becerra, Katie Porter, Eric Swalwell, Tom Steyer, Tony Thurmond, Betty Yee, Antonio Villaraigosa, and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan. On the Republican side, as you probably know if you followed politics recently, there are two: former Fox News host Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.

Many outlets have already done the math and have given quite the same warnings. Republicans make up roughly 30% of California’s electorate, and if Hilton and Bianco split that vote, each gets around 15%. Democrats make up about 60%, but divided eight ways, the leading candidate might finish with 11 or 12 percent, and polls already suggest this may just well happen.

The California Democratic Party’s current response is to pressure the lower-polling candidates to drop out. That does not appear to be currently working, and there’s no particular reason it should for the front of the pack. Tom Steyer is self-funded and actually for once, holds a chance at winning. Katie Porter isn’t going to step aside for Xavier Becerra, the candidates are busy suing each other over residency requirements and debate inclusions, etc. etc. They are professional politicians who have spent years building toward this race and appear to be treating their chances at victory dead serious, at least probably enough so that lawsuits (or the threat of lawsuits) are currently flying like candy.

But there’s a straightforward legislative fix available right now (one that had was floated since last December, in fact) that is, restoring the write-in line. If the legislature passes such a bill, which doesn’t even have to be expedited due to California Assemblymember Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara)’s spot bill, write-in candidates become eligible for the November ballot again. If the lockout scenario plays out and the top Democratic finisher comes in third with 12%, that candidate runs a write-in campaign in November. In a state with a two-to-one Democratic registration advantage, organizing around a single write-in candidate against two Republicans is a winnable proposition. Alaska’s 2010 Senate race established the template, as Sen. Lisa Murkowski lost the Republican primary, ran as a write-in in the general, and won. Unfortunately, this does carry the possibility that the Democratic candidates will end up running competing write-in campaigns that destroy the vote further facing the one remaining Republican, but that is a problem for tomorrow, not today.

The current alternative, losing the governorship of California because eight candidates wouldn’t consolidate, is worse for the Democratic Party in a much closer timeframe. After the ballots start printing, the window will in effect probably close. The legislature has time to act, but not much of it. If not, the courts could also act on the latest round of Anti-Top-Two lawsuits (filed in 2024 by the coalition of minor parties), but the fact that the hearings were bumped all the way to April does not inspire any kind of confidence.