"All candidates, including independents, are listed on a single ballot. The top two vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to the runoff."
Joyce Dattner, Chair of IndependentVoice.Org, speaks at the victory press conference for Proposition 14 with Governor Arnold Schwazenegger and Lt. Governor Abel Maldonado. IndependentVoice.Org represents the state's 3.4 million decline to state voters (California's version of independent) and is part of the national independent movement fighting to reform the political process.
CA has used a similar system for its county and municipal elections for nearly 100 years, and Prop. 14 will affect state and congressional elections. The only other states with such a system are Washington and Louisiana. Washington first used it for its state and congressional elections in 2008, and Louisiana has used its "open primary" for state and local elections since 1975.
A comparable ballot measure, Proposition 62, lost in California in 2004, despite Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's support. Spearheading Prop. 14, the governor raised more than $4.5 million for it, enabling backers to outspend opponents 20 to 1. All six of California's registered political parties opposed Prop. 14.
There will definitely be federal litigation against Prop. 14, which could be unconstitutional for congressional elections. A line of rulings from the U. S. Supreme Court has established that any candidate who has met a prior vote test of five percent is entitled to be on the November ballot for Congress. Prop. 14, however, sets a threshold of 25 percent for a candidate to be on the November ballot.
There is a trial that Washington state's "top two" is facing in U. S. District court in November and will also be subjected to litigation in the 9th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Independents supported this from all over the country with donations and phone banks.
Use the above link for more information about the Open Primary win.
Michael H. Drucker
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1 comment:
Prop. 14 is not similar to California city elections. First of all, the vast majority of cities in California have one-round elections. And even among the few that have two-round elections, the first round IS an election, because someone can be elected in the first round (and usually is elected in the first round). Prop. 14's first round is not a real election, because no one can be elected in the frirst round.
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