After the Aug. 11 filing deadline, Cupertino's city attorney, Chuck Kilian, ordered the names of Congressman Mike Honda, Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith and former Assemblyman Jim Cunneen removed from the ballot because, in his view, the three did not meet election code criteria.

Kilian's decision sparked a lawsuit by the civic group, Advocates for Cupertino, which said the move was unconstitutional. Kilian, at the time, said he was merely obeying the law.

After both sides made their case in an Aug. 29 hearing, Judge McKenney ordered the names reinstated Sept. 1.

In his ruling, McKenney argued against a restrictive interpretation of the California Election Code, stating it was important to provide voters with all the information necessary for making an informed decision.

McKenney made his ruling in advance of a Sept. 9 deadline, when ballots have to be printed for shipment to registered voters living overseas.

"We're very pleased," Rich Robinson, an ABC plaintiff in the case, said. "The names should never have been removed in the first place."

Honda, in a press statement, also praised the ruling. "I'm pleased that the court recognizes that voters deserve the most information possible to make informed decisions," he said.

Honda is one of the more prominent supporters of Advocates for a Better Cupertino's opposition to three ballot measures drafted by another civic group, the Concerned Citizens of Cupertino. The measures center on restricting building density (Measure A), building height (Measure B) and distance from the street (Measure C).

Advocates for a Better Cupertino say the measures would limit housing and job growth and hurt the local economy.

While the CCC had no official position on whether the names should be on the ballot, member Dennis Whittaker said, "My personal feeling is the lawsuit shows [the ABC] tends to count more for outsiders and not residents."