Election 2020: Trump Faces Major Re-Election Problem, California Requires His Tax Returns

President Donald Trump’s electoral fortunes in 2020 are at stake after a new California law took effect on Tuesday seeking mandatory disclosure of tax returns for presidential and governor candidates.

Trump has been refusing to divulge his tax information.

The law was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom after the legislature passed the bill in early July requiring all presidential candidates to submit five years of income tax filings.

The law also demands candidates running for governor post to release their tax returns before the state-wide primary beginning in 2024.

The law makes important Trump news as tax returns have to be disclosed by this November to gain a slot on California’s presidential primary ballot scheduled for March 2020.

The state election officials will post the financial documents online barring some private information that will remain classified.

Although Trump has not been singled out by the law, it is obvious he is the inspiration and is likely to fight back.

In a statement, Gov. Newsom said California is one of the largest economies in the world and home to one in nine Americans eligible to vote. It bears a special responsibility to ensure adequate information from presidential and gubernatorial candidates.

Trump’s team calls the law unconstitutional

In its reaction, an official from Trump’s re-election campaign team alleged California is overstepping its powers.

“The Constitution is clear on the qualifications for someone to serve as president and states cannot add additional requirements on their own,” said Tim Murtaugh, communications director for the president’s re-election campaign.

Noting the bill is unconstitutional as it violates the 1st Amendment right of association Murtaugh said California cannot dictate to political parties which candidates they should vote for in a primary election.

The spokesman for the Republican National Committee, Blair Ellis, said California officials are trying to deny “voting rights to the millions of Californians who support President Trump and wish to vote for him in the primary.”

Ford and Trump refused to reveal tax details

Access to a candidate’s tax returns has been the cornerstone of presidential politics. But President Gerald Ford in 1976 and Trump in 2016 refused to release their taxes.

Trump has been fending off the pressure from media and congressional demands suggesting he cannot disclose tax details as he is under a tax audit.

Gov. Newsom’s signature on SB 27 also sets the stage for a legal debate whether a state has powers to decide the names that must appear on its presidential ballot.

“I’m sure it’ll be challenged, but I have no confidence in predicting what the courts are going to do,” commented Richard L. Hasen, a UC Irvine election law professor.

Even California’s last Governor Brown vetoed a similar bill in 2017, arguing that it will not be tenable constitutionally and create a bad precedent.

If California’s law remains, Trump must either give up on his refusal to provide tax information or risk California’s 172 delegates.

Since Trump does not have a significant Republican primary challenger, he can ignore California’s primary and still garner enough delegates to become his party’s nominee.

California has 172 delegates out of the 2,472 nationally and Trump needs only 1,237 delegates to win the nomination.

But the law is double-edged and can bite Democrats as well. Many of the Democrat hopefuls seeking to challenge Trump in November 2020 are yet to release their tax returns.