The bill from Sen. Tom Umberg, a Santa Ana Democrat and chairperson of the Senate Judiciary Committee, would make it illegal for the California Secretary of State to place on the ballot any candidate for president or vice president who does not meet the constitutional requirements of those offices.
The Constitution’s 22nd Amendment already states that no individual can hold the presidency for more than two terms.
Senate Bill 46 would take that one step further and require any candidate to affirm under oath, and penalty of perjury, that they are indeed constitutionally qualified for the ballot. An elector could challenge the qualifications of a candidate by petitioning the Superior Court of Sacramento.
“Apparently there’s some cockamamie scheme that exists in the mind of the president, and Alan Dershowitz, that he can run for a third term,” Umberg said, referring to the Harvard scholar and former Trump legal advisor who suggested the 22nd Amendment did not provide an airtight ban on a third Trump term. “It’s a belt and suspenders approach to make sure that his delusion doesn’t become reality.”
Umberg said that although 2028 is still years away, it was important to get the ball rolling early so other states could follow California’s example. Plus, 2026 is Umberg’s final year in the Senate.
- Umberg: “I have a sell-by date on my head, so that’s important for me, personally, to leave this as part of my legacy.”
SB 46 will be heard in the Senate elections committee this morning.
