Riverside County Judicial Candidate Sues County Over One-Word Ballot-Title Typo, Seeking More Than $222,000
A Riverside County Superior Court judicial candidate, Michelle Paradise, sued Riverside County and the county's outside counsel Dale Larson on August 31, alleging that a typo inserted into her court-ordered primary ballot designation — an extra “of” — left her printed title reading “Attorney / Assistant County of Executive Officer, County of Riverside,” a nonsensical title matching no real government position, according to IELaw News on October 24. She is seeking at least $222,831.
Paradise had originally filed to run as “Attorney/Justice Executive.” Riverside resident Candalon Doss challenged the designation, and the County Counsel's office hired Larson, of Strumwasser & Woocher, to defend the challenge. On April 2, Riverside County Superior Court Judge O.G. Magno ordered the designation changed to “Attorney/Assistant County Executive Officer, County of Riverside.” The complaint says Larson emailed the correct designation to the Registrar of Voters that morning, then sent a second email eight hours later containing the typo, attaching only an uncertified minute order; the Registrar adopted the second version without verifying it against the court's actual order, with the ballot printing deadline only five days away.
Paradise finished first in the primary with 207,984 votes and advanced to the November runoff, but fell 28,133 votes — about 6 percent — short of the majority needed to win outright. The complaint says the wrong designation forced five additional months of campaigning costing about $173,000; together with $42,331 in primary expenditures and a $7,500 refund of her ballot-statement fee, she seeks at least $222,831, plus further amounts to be decided at trial. Her claims include legal malpractice, election malpractice and negligent supervision of outside counsel. She is represented by Elan Zektser of Los Angeles' Oakwood Legal Group. The case is CVRI2605667, with a case management conference scheduled for March 10.
Riverside County spokesperson Brooke Federico said the county has received the lawsuit and is reviewing it to determine next steps; court records show the county and Larson have not yet been served and no response has been filed. The above reflects the complaint's allegations and the county's initial response; the court has made no ruling on the merits.
Source: GSM · America
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：河滨县法院大楼（Riverside County Court House）夜景。照片：Norarobless，CC BY-SA 3.0，取自 Wikimedia Commons。The Riverside County Court House at night. Photo: Norarobless, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
