Ballots are out for the June 2 primary election, and it’s a lot to sift through.

Bradley Zeve here, a few days after our editorial board’s endorsements for the June 2 election were published in the latest edition of the Weekly.

Our electoral system is designed to encourage participation, not just for voters, but for candidates. The barriers to seeking public office are intentionally low, keeping democracy accessible to ordinary citizens, not just the wealthy or well-connected. To run for governor, a candidate needs only to be a registered voter, pay a filing fee of roughly $4,919 (or gather 6,000 signatures) and submit five years of tax returns. That’s it.

The result: 61 candidates on the June primary ballot for governor, including Eric Swalwell and Betty Yee, both of whom have already suspended their campaigns. That openness means the ballot includes career politicians like former U.S. Attorney General Xavier Becerra, billionaires like Tom Steyer, and plenty of ordinary people—some inspiring, some alarming.

Case in point: Don Grundmann, a perennial fringe candidate who has run for federal office repeatedly, used his 250-word voter guide statement—printed and distributed at state expense—to promote antisemitic conspiracy theories, 9/11 revisionism and links to hate websites. The California Secretary of State’s office added a special bold, italicized disclaimer to his entry. It doesn’t undo the hurt. 

But this is the tradeoff we accept in a society that accepts and advocates free speech. The First Amendment protects not just reasonable political speech but language that is vile. A system that keeps the door open to everyone will find people in the hall filled with prejudice and hate. That’s uncomfortable and even painful—and it’s also a reminder of why voting matters.

Grundmann has no chance of winning. What he has is a platform, and the best answer to that platform is a ballot marked for someone better. (Not all candidates provided statements for the voter guide you should have already received in the mail, as well as a ballot.)

Our politics today is a cesspool of distortion and untruth. People like Grundmann thrive on it. Silence is not the answer—participation is.

You may agree with our endorsements in this week’s cover story, or you may not. Either way, our editorial board urges you to vote in this consequential primary. It’s a right and a privilege that generations before us fought to secure, and is not something to be taken for granted. Let’s use it well. Please vote. (Just not for fools like Grundmann.)