THE WIRE #011 — Democracy Will Not Be Redacted

Yesterday was one of those days that reminds you exactly why this work matters. Late nights, hard decisions, documents delivered to people who didn't want to count them — and still, we showed up. Every single one of you.

I want to be direct: what the California Secretary of State's office did is wrong. A 10-minute email deadline is not due process. It is a tactic. And if you know your history, you know this tactic has a name — and it has been used before. Against Green candidates in North Carolina. Against independent voices right here in California. Over and over again by an establishment that benefits from limiting your choices at the ballot box.

But here is what I also know: we are ready. The legal fund is live. The public statement is out. We are going loud today — and we are doing it with receipts.

Dr. Ware is not done. And neither are we.

WHAT HAPPENED — THE FULL TIMELINE

Here are the facts, in order. Every timestamp documented. Every document delivered.

• March 7, 3:07 PM — SOS office emails our campaign citing deficiencies in financial disclosure filings. Language is confusing and contradictory.

• March 10, 9:29 PM — A second email arrives correcting the first. Still unclear which years apply or what exactly needs fixing.

• March 11–12 — Our campaign requests clarification twice. We wait.

• March 13, 10:46 AM — Full instructions finally arrive. We go through the entire filing page by page with our CPA and find no discrepancies. We mail a complete corrected package overnight from Santa Barbara.

• March 16, 9:17 AM — The Secretary of State's office signs for and receives our package.

• March 16, 4:50 PM — A new email arrives demanding corrections by 5:00 PM that same day. Dr. Ware is at work. He opens the email at 6 PM — one hour after the deadline.

• March 16, afternoon — We drive hard copies to the office regardless. They accept the documents. They refuse to count them.

• March 17 — We call. No appeal. No supervisor. No recourse. Their only suggestion: file a writ of mandate in Superior Court.

THIS IS NOT ISOLATED — KNOW THE PATTERN

What happened to Dr. Ware did not come from nowhere. This is a documented, national pattern of using bureaucratic and legal mechanisms to block independent and third-party voices from the ballot:

2012 — Proposition 14 (California)

Funded by large corporate interests, Prop 14 created a top-two primary system that makes it dramatically harder for minor party candidates to reach the general election ballot. Its impact on third-party access was not disclosed in the official voter guide.

2022 — North Carolina

The NC Green Party filed suit against the State Board of Elections after a 3-2 Democratic majority vote refused to certify the party — despite their submitting over 2,000 more valid signatures than the law required. No evidence of irregularities was ever presented. The Elias Law Group, one of the most powerful Democratic legal firms in the country, led the challenge. Petition signers reported being harassed and deceived into withdrawing their names.

2024 — Nationwide

Democratic Party lawsuits knocked Green Party candidates off ballots across multiple states.

2025 — California

Politico excluded Dr. Ware from a California gubernatorial forum following a strong performance.

2026 — A 10-minute email.

This is not bureaucratic incompetence. This is a coordinated institutional response to the threat of genuine political competition. The fight for democracy includes fighting the establishment — including establishment Democrats — who protect and benefit from a system that limits your choices.

WHAT WE ARE DOING ABOUT IT

We are pursuing a writ of mandate to the Sacramento County Superior Court — asking a judge to review this timeline and determine whether a 10-minute email deadline constitutes due process.

We believe it does not. We believe the voters of California deserve to decide who leads this state.

You can fight with us right now:

📞 Call the CA Secretary of State's Elections Division

(916) 657-2166 | Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM–5:00 PM

Tell them: "California voters deserve more voices and full transparency in our elections. Reverse this decision and keep Dr. Butch Ware on the June 2nd ballot."

💚 Donate to the Legal Fund — 100% goes to the campaign via Zeffy

zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/keep-butch-on-the-ballot

PRESS ACTIVITY & MOMENTUM

Despite the crisis, the campaign is moving. Here is what is happening on the ground:

• SF Bay View interview — Dr. Ware sits down with the SF Bay View on Friday March 20th, one of California's oldest and most respected Black community publications, to tell this story directly to the people.

• Brian McGinnis YouTube Office Hours — Green Party national coordination lead Brian McGinnis joined Dr. Ware's YouTube channel to discuss the fight and the path forward.

• Reel is live — Dr. Ware's video calling on supporters to contact Secretary of State Shirley Weber is out now. Share it everywhere.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

• Friday, March 20 — SF Bay View interview, 3 PM PT

• Friday, April 4 — Unity Uprising: Black Radical Tradition & Collective Liberation (Los Angeles)

• Tuesday, June 2 — California Primary — 75 days away

HOW TO HELP RIGHT NOW

This is a full mobilization moment. Here is exactly what you can do today:

1. Make the call — (916) 657-2166. Demand Dr. Ware stays on the ballot.

2. Donate to the legal fund — zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/keep-butch-on-the-ballot

3. Share the reel — Dr. Ware's video is live on all campaign channels.

4. Share the carousels — Two branded 7-slide carousels are live. Save, share, and post.

5. Use the hashtags — #StopBlockingButch #BlockedAtTheBallot #DemocracyWillNotBeRedacted #ButchWare4Gov #BallotAccessNow

THE WARE INSTITUTE

Lesson #006: Ballot Suppression Is Voter Suppression

Most people think of voter suppression as something that happens on Election Day — a closed polling place, a purged registration, an ID requirement designed to exclude. But the most effective voter suppression often happens long before anyone casts a ballot. It happens in the filing office. In the courtroom. In a 10-minute email.

The two-party system does not just win elections. It engineers who gets to compete in them.

In 2022, the North Carolina Green Party submitted more than 2,000 signatures above the legal threshold to qualify as a recognized political party. The State Board of Elections — by a 3-2 vote along party lines — refused to certify them. No evidence of the alleged irregularities was ever presented. The Elias Law Group led the legal effort. People who had signed the petition reported being called, pressured, and deceived into withdrawing their names.

In California, Proposition 14 — funded by corporate interests in 2010, its impact undisclosed in the official voter guide — created the top-two primary system that has functionally locked third parties out of general elections for over a decade.

These are not accidents. They are a coordinated institutional response to the threat of genuine political competition. Understanding this is what separates a movement that gets surprised from one that fights back informed.

We have been here before. We know what this is. And we are still in it.

Further reading: "NC Green Party Files Lawsuit Against BOE Over Ballot Access" — Carolina Journal, July 2022

THE WIN

The Zeffy legal fund launched overnight and is already receiving donations — with new Beehiiv subscribers coming in directly from donors. People who are giving money are also joining our movement. That is a coalition activating in real time, in the middle of a crisis. The reel is cut. The carousels are branded and live. The public statement is airtight. The timeline is documented.

We did not let yesterday break us. We used it to build something.

That is the Ware way.

Democracy will not be redacted.

— Angelica Ross, Director of Communications | Dr. Butch Ware for Governor 2026

📞 Call the CA Secretary of State: (916) 657-2166 | Mon–Fri, 8AM–5PM

💚 Donate to the Legal Fund: zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/keep-butch-on-the-ballot

🌐 butchware4gov.org

Paid for by Dr. Butch Ware for Governor 2026 | [email protected]