California Voters Back Election OverhaulHoping to fix a system many Californians view as fundamentally broken, voters Tuesday moved to radically alter the way they pick their candidates for state and Congressional offices by eliminating traditional primaries in favor of a new, and largely untested,
nalissystem.
The proposal, Proposition 14, drew the support of a commanding three-fifths of voters. It will establish a so-called “top two” system,
Hot Dipped Galvanized Wirewhich sets up an open primary – with all candidates running on a single ballot, regardless of political affiliation – and only the top two vote-getters proceeding to the general election.
Supporters of the measure, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lt. Gov Abel Maldonado, both Republicans, hailed the measure as a potential cure-all for legislative paralysis on issues of taxes and budgets in California – which is currently facing a $19 billion hole.
“This sends a clear message that Californians are tired of partisan gridlock and dysfunction and want a system where representatives put what’s best for California ahead of extreme partisan doctrine,” Governor Schwarzenegger, who is leaving office in November, said in a statement issued late Tuesday.
All six recognized political parties in California, including Republicans and Democrats, had been fighting Proposition 14, which they said would marginalize smaller parties and will not deliver on its promises of post-partisanship.
“The minor parties have real standing,” said John Burton, the chairman of the California Democratic Party,
Hot Dipped Galvanized Wireof a potential legal challenge to the law, “because they will never ever be allowed in a general election again.”
nalisUnder the new law, which takes effect in 2011, all candidates would be listed together for Congressional and statewide elective offices on a primary ballot, and could choose to list their party preference — or no preference at all. The top two vote-getters -- even if from the same party -- would advance to the general election.
Unlike the current system, which allowed only registered members of a party to vote in primaries, Proposition 14 will allow every voter to cast a ballot in primaries, something that appeals to many independent voters, a growing group which now makes up 20 percent of the California electorate.
Supporters of Proposition 14 – including the conservative California Chamber of Commerce and a collection of insurance and Silicon Valley companies – heavily outspent opponents,
Hot Dipped Galvanized Wirewho seemed initially surprised by the measure’s popularity and only organized its fundraising late.
Richard Winger, a prominent opponent of the measure, said that “California now has the most restrictive general election ballot access in the nation,” but acknowledged the sour mood of the electorate.
nalisA May poll from the Public Policy Institute of California found the California legislature had a 16 percent approval rating.
