Attorney Dennis Morris is turning to the California State Constitution in his bid to be added to the ballot as a Democratic opponent to State Sen. Abel Maldonado (R-Santa Maria).

Morris, of Pismo Beach, cites Article II, Section 5(b) of the state constitution, which states that a party that participates in a primary election should not be denied the opportunity to place on the general ballot the party member who received the most votes in that primary.

For Morris, that would mean he could qualify for the ballot even though he apparently will fall short of the 3,689 votes needed as a primary write-in candidate to make the general election ballot.

Morris became a write-in candidate after no Democrats filed formal papers to run against Maldonado, a moderate Republican who sometimes votes with Democrats in the State Senate. Maldonado represents the 15th State Senate District, which covers coastal areas in central California.

In a press release, Morris called on Democratic Central Committees in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, Santa Cruz, and Santa Clara counties to petition the California Secretary of State to put Morris on the Nov. 4 ballot as Maldonado's opponent.

The Secretary of State's office will certify the results of the June 3 primary within the next week.

The release noted that previous case law suggested the constitutional requirement could not be used for a write-in candidate such as Morris.

"...(T)his opinion appears misguided and short-sighted in that it focuses on the narrow facts that gave rise to the provision without regard to the literal language in the California Constitution which is unambiguous and trumps statutory law (including the Election Code)," Morris writes in the release.

Regardless of whether the effort succeeds, or whether Morris wins in November, he said he plans to run for state legislative office either in 2010 or 2012, which is when Maldonado is termed out.