Open Primaries has released a groundbreaking new report on the transformative effects of primary reform.
The Authors:
Jason D. Olson is Director of IndependentVoice.Org and was a key leader in the passage of California’s Top Two Nonpartisan Primary (Proposition 14) in 2010. He was also instrumental in helping to pass redistricting reform (Proposition 11) in 2008 and (Proposition 20) in 2010 as part of a broad coalition. A graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara, he is an op-ed writer and independent political analyst in California who has appeared on CNN, Fox News, and various California radio stations.
Omar H. Ali, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and serves on the national Board of Directors of IndependentVoting.org. A graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science, he received his Ph.D. in History from Columbia University and is the author of In the Balance of Power: Independent Black Politics and Third Party Movements, described as a “landmark work” by the National Political Science Review. Ali has appeared on CNN and NPR.
Voters in California enacted a “Top Two” nonpartisan primary system, allowing all voters, whether registered to a party or not, to participate in primary elections.
A Quiet Revolution: The Early Successes of California’s Top Two Nonpartisan Primary outlines the sea change in voter access and representation, competitive elections, and a new, more cooperative state legislature engaged in cross party dialogue that has resulted from these reforms. Key findings include:
- More competitive elections — California elections are now the most competitive in the nation, with a record number of incumbents defeated under the new system.
- All voters have the right to equal participation — All voters now have full access to both the first and final round of the election process. This has forced candidates to appeal beyond their party’s base.
- A functional legislature — California is no longer a national symbol for legislative dysfunction. Members of the legislature, who must now be elected by building diverse coalitions of voters rather than toeing the party line, head to Sacramento incentivized to continue similar outreach while in office.
CLICK HERE to read the interactive report.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
1 comment:
The reason California's legislature is more peaceful now than before top-two started is because in November 2010, the voters passed Prop. 25. That ended the constitutional rule that the budget pass with a two-thirds vote in each house of the legislature. Now, there is peace in the legislature because Democrats are free to pass their budget. Formerly the budget was frequently blocked because Republicans had over one-third of the legislature and could block it.
Ironically, the other top-two state, Washington, has had a great deal of trouble passing a budget since top-two started. In both 2013 and 2015, the Washington legislature needed a regular session and three special sessions to pass the budget. That is because Democrats control the House but Republicans control the Senate.
The reason California has more competitive districts now is because California started using an independent redistricting commission after the 2010 census.
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