Jewish advocacy organizations are demanding answers from California’s secretary of state after her office distributed an official statewide voter guide containing a candidate statement packed with antisemitic conspiracy theories — including claims that Israel orchestrated the September 11 attacks and assassinated conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.

The 64-page booklet, mailed this week to every household in California with a registered voter ahead of the state’s June primaries, includes personal statements from all candidates appearing on the ballot. Among them is a submission from Don J. Grundmann, a fringe far-right candidate for governor with no party affiliation, whose statement the secretary of state’s office included without disqualification despite guidelines that appeared to prohibit it.

Grundmann’s statement alleges that Israel assassinated Charlie Kirk with the knowledge of the U.S. government; that Israel murdered American sailors aboard the USS Liberty in 1967; that Israelis carried out the 9/11 terror attack; and that Israel plans to detonate a nuclear device inside the United States. The statement also includes links to websites associated with the Goyim Defense League, a white supremacist organization known for distributing antisemitic materials.

“We are ‘goyim’ (less than human/animals/cattle) that they will enslave,” the statement reads.

Secretary of State Shirley Weber’s office added a disclaimer next to Grundmann’s entry — not included beside any of the other 31 candidates’ statements — stating that the views expressed are the candidate’s own. Jewish groups said the disclaimer fell far short of adequate.

“Millions of California voters received an official state publication containing content that should have been disqualified under the State’s own rules,” four Jewish organizations wrote in a letter to Weber on Tuesday. The signatories were the Jewish Community Action Network (JCAN), the Jewish Federation of Orange County, the Anti-Defamation League of Orange County and Long Beach, and the Israeli American Council.

The secretary of state’s own guidelines state that candidate statements “shall be limited to a recitation of the candidate’s own personal background and qualifications” and require candidates to declare that their submissions are “true and correct.” The guidelines also gave the office authority to disqualify statements if candidates declined to make requested changes. The webpage laying out those guidelines was taken down after the Jewish groups filed their protest, according to JCAN director Ilana Meirovitch.

“By including a statement containing antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories in an official voter guide, the State has effectively provided a government platform for rhetoric that fuels division and undermines the safety and dignity of Jewish communities,” the letter said.

The groups are requesting an explanation of how Grundmann’s statement passed review, a clarification of the procedures in place to enforce the guidelines, and a commitment that the office will apply the rules going forward.

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