Write in butch ware for governor by june 2, 2026

The establishment removed him from the ballot.

You can put him back.

By June 2, write BUTCH WARE on the write-in line of your California Governor's race ballot to vote for a candidate who will fight to bring power back to the people.

how to cast your write-in vote

Butch Ware is a registered write-in candidate for Governor of California. Under California law, write-in votes for registered candidates are fully tallied and included in official election results.

step 1

Receive your ballot — by mail before June 2, or in person at your polling location on Election Day.

step 2

Find the Governor's race on your ballot.

step 3

Look for the blank write-in line at the bottom of the candidate list.

step 4

Fill in the bubble & write BUTCH WARE clearly in the blank.

step 5

Submit your ballot as normal. Your vote is valid, legal, and will be counted.

FAQ – WRITE-IN VOTES

Yes. California law fully counts write-in votes for registered write-in candidates. Butch Ware is registered and your vote will be tallied.
No. A write-in vote for a registered candidate counts exactly the same as a vote for anyone on the printed ballot. What would waste your vote is voting for someone who won't fight for you.
You will need to register to vote, which you can do so online here. From there, just write his name clearly on the write-in line by June 2.

If you haven't returned your ballot yet, you can still write him in. If you've already submitted it, you cannot change it — but you can encourage everyone you know to write in Butch Ware.
Yes. Write BUTCH WARE as clearly as possible. Though minor spelling variations are generally accepted by California election officials as long as the intent is clear, it’s ideal to write BUTCH WARE.

Why isn't Butch Ware on the printed ballot?

In March 2026, the California Secretary of State disqualified Dr. Butch Ware from the gubernatorial primary ballot — not for lacking qualifications, not for failing to file, but for an alleged paperwork defect in his tax-return submission.

Over a 10-day period, the Secretary's office sent shifting and contradictory deficiency notices. Then, at 4:50 p.m. on the March 16 statutory deadline, they sent a final notice demanding a cure by 5:00 p.m - only 10 minutes.

Of the 61 candidates appearing on the gubernatorial primary ballot, several have tax submissions with the same alleged deficiencies cited against Dr. Ware. They were not disqualified. He was.

This is fundamentally about our constitutional right to ballot access.

The California tax-return disclosure law used to remove him — Senate Bill 27, signed by Governor Newsom in 2019 — was already challenged for presidential candidates. The California Supreme Court struck that half of the law down unanimously in 2019. The gubernatorial half, identical in design, has remained untested — until now.

The Butch Ware for Governor campaign filed a federal civil rights lawsuit, Ware v. Weber, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. Within 48 hours, a federal judge placed the case on an emergency briefing schedule — compressing the standard 21-day response window to 7 days. That's how seriously the court is treating this.

Throughout the court proceedings, it was revealed that the Secretary of State retroactively altered the wording of official emails sent to Butch Ware, and submitted those altered versions to the court as evidence.

Even the Secretary of State’s own exhibits show that Butch Ware had submitted the necessary documents to be on the ballot:

Three separate legal fronts are active: the federal lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a state appellate case, and a voter disenfranchisement complaint filed by the National Lawyers Guild. Each addresses a distinct injury from the same set of facts.

This tactic is a common tactic by the political establishment against third-party candidates who represent a real threat to the two-party system. By bogging down the campaign with legal fees, they hope to stop our momentum. Despite that, Butch Ware still polls higher than any Green Party gubernatorial candidate ever has, and has raised more funds than billionaire opponents.

In the latest development, the federal judge has denied the campaigns request for a Temporary Restraining Order to restore Butch’s name on the ballot, saying that it was too late to act when voting had already begun. They have not responded to our arguments and we will be continuing to fight the case in court for our campaign and every third-party and independent campaign that comes after us.

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