Nonpartisan news and updates on legislative, legal, and grassroots efforts to open primary elections nationwide.
Andrew Gumbel is grumbling over the potential consequences of the 2018 nonpartisan California primary election. He claims the nonpartisan primary is not working as intended. Perhaps he should have gotten in touch with the authors of Proposition 14 to see if it has met the goals they had in mind.
There were three:
It is periodically reported that California’s Prop 14 (Non-partisan Top Two Primary) was drafted in the middle of the night in the back rooms of the California Legislature. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Here is the truth:
Electoral reform includes any reforms to the electoral and political systems that make lawmakers more accountable to the people who elect them. The purpose of election reform is to improve voter opportunities and create better choices at the ballot box, giving better representation to everyone.
Presently, there are “hot” issues that lead people to subscribe to one party or the other, offering little flexibility with respect to other issues, policies, and stances.
Article II, Section 5(c) of the California Constitution says,
“The Legislature shall provide for partisan elections for presidential candidates, and political party and party central committees, including an open presidential primary.” (emphasis added)
However, if you visit the California secretary of state’s website, here’s what it says:
How are presidential primary elections conducted in California?
The following is a breakdown of the general types of primary elections with an explanation of the Constitutional principles that apply to each system's components.