- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Two write-in candidates to seek Lake County Superior Court judge’s seat in March primary
On Tuesday, Lisa M. Proffitt-O'Brien, a felony prosecutor with the Lake County District Attorney’s Office, officially joined the race.
She submitted the necessary paperwork and signatures to run as a write-in candidate in the March 3 primary, according to interim Lake County Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley.
Proffitt-O'Brien joins incumbent Judge J. David Markham, who is running to retain his seat, also as a write-in candidate.
Markham, who was appointed by then-Gov. Jerry Brown and took office in February 2018, missed the December filing deadline that was months earlier due to the presidential primary taking place in March, rather than June, as Lake County News has reported.
The deadline to sign up to be a qualified write-in candidate was 5 p.m. Tuesday.
Proffitt-O’Brien said she submitted the needed signatures on Tuesday while on her lunch break that day.
Fridley said that Proffitt-O’Brien submitted more than the necessary number of signatures but elections staff – busy on Tuesday with the last name of voter registration for the primary – didn’t have time to verify them that day.
On Wednesday, Fridley told Lake County News that elections staff had completed the process to verify the signatures, which confirms Proffitt-O’Brien as a qualified write-in candidate.
In addition to the other necessary paperwork, Fridley said Proffitt-O'Brien submitted a bar certificate proving she’s worked as a lawyer for at least 10 years, a requirement to run for judge in California.
No other candidates have filed paperwork to be write-in candidates, Fridley said.
District Attorney Susan Krones told Lake County News that Proffitt-O'Brien has worked for her office since about the spring of last year. Proffitt-O'Brien previously worked as a contract public defender for the county.
The State Bar of California’s records show that Proffitt-O’Brien studied law at the Empire College School of Law in Santa Rosa.
While write-in candidates can join the race far later than other candidates, their names will not appear on the printed ballots, as Lake County News has reported.
Fridley said write-in candidates must educate voters about the need to write in the candidate’s name in the blank box next to the office of Lake County Superior Court judge on the ballot and then check the box next to the name.
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