Many thoughtful assessments of the Top Two Open Primary proposal raise many of the issues considered by the California Independent Voter Project when researching election reform options over the past three years.
The first lawsuit challenging the legality of California’s newly-approved “top two” open primary system was brought forward last week in San Francisco Superior Court. The suit seeks to block implementation of Proposition 14 on the grounds that it disenfranchises voters and discriminates against minor party candidates.
In a recent news advisory, Wells expressed some optimism about California's future. When voters found out about the large corporate backing of Props 16 and 17 from PG&E and a car insurance company respectively, she says they responded by voting those amendments down.
Ideological polarization has created an environment in which Democrats and Republicans are virtually incapable of coming to any sort of agreement. However, they almost never disagree when it comes to barring third party and independent candidates from joining in forums and debates, and even from participating in the electoral process by means of highly restrictive ballot access laws.
With record low turnout but strong anti-incumbent attitudes, voters dramatically changed the way California elects state officeholders by approving Proposition 14, which creates a non-partisan primary where the top two vote-getters advance to a November run-off.
With California’s primary election less than two weeks away, the long knives are already making appearances, as Californians hotly debate the issues on the ballot. Obviously, the clearest example is the current controversy over Proposition 14 – also known as the nonpartisan “Top Two” open primary initiative – which has been
The Legislature should quickly make it easier for candidates who don’t state a party preference to run for state office, advocates of Proposition 14, the so-called “Top-Two” open primary proposal on the June ballot, told reporters May 26.
Less than three weeks before the June 8 primary, support for Proposition 14 continues to rise. In a PPIC survey of 2,003 likely voters in California, 60% support the state constitutional amendment, while 27% oppose and 13% remain undecided. Support for the open primary initiative has risen another 4 points since March.
Less than a month before the June election, a strange-political-bedfellows coalition of public employee unions and the state GOP party announced May 11 their opposition to Proposition 14, which would eliminate partisan primaries and allow the top two vote-getters – regardless of party – to advance to a November run-off.
One of the few things supporters and opponents of Proposition 14 agree on is that it doesn’t create an “open” primary. Backers of Proposition 14 contend that its system increases the chances of smaller party candidates reaching the November ballot and elected office.
