Vince Fong’s Dual Election Win Triggers Costly Special Election in California

TL/DR –

Republican Vince Fong won both an Assembly race and a Congressional seat, leading to a special election to fill the Assembly seat he does not want. This has resulted in Kern and Tulare county taxpayers having to pay for the special election. A new law, Assembly Bill 1784, has been passed to prevent future instances of a candidate appearing on the same ballot for two different races.

Republican Vince Fong Wins Two Seats, Leads to Costly Special Election

Kern and Tulare county taxpayers in California could be paying hundreds of thousands for a special election following Republican Vince Fong’s dual victory. Despite leaving his Assembly job for Congress, Fong won both his Congressional seat and an Assembly seat he no longer desired. His double listing led to his overwhelming victory in both races. As per the latest data, Fong secured over 33,000 votes more than Ken Weir, his fellow Republican candidate for the Assembly seat.

To prevent similar double listing confusion in the future, a new law, Assembly Bill 1784, has been passed. The recent legislation bars candidates from running for two different races simultaneously.

The double listing issue began with U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s resignation. Fong, a long-time supporter of McCarthy, announced his bid for McCarthy’s Congressional seat. However, he had already filed papers declaring his Assembly candidacy for the March primary. This led to his appearance on the ballot for both races.

As Fong “won” his Assembly seat, a special election must be organized to replace him. The special election could cost local taxpayers between $4 to $8 per registered voter, resulting in an overall cost of over $1.2 million. Looking forward, the new law AB 1784 aims to prevent such expensive confusion by establishing a clear procedure for candidates to withdraw from one race to participate in another one.

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