The April 28 Los Angeles Times carries this letter from UCLA Political Scientist Thomas Schwartz, about California’s new “top-two” election system. Schwartz is a specialist in social choice theory and mathematical political science. He is the author of “The Logic of Collective Choice” and “The Art of Logical Reasoning.”
The link goes to all the letters published that day. Professor Schwartz’ letter is the second one down. The letter also chides the Los Angeles Times for telling its readers, in an editorial on April 25, that the top-two system is the same system as the non-partisan system used by all California cities and counties for elections for their own officials.
ANY profs with ANY brain cells about P.R. and App.V. in CA (or in ANY part of the U.S.A.) ???
OR — is the U.S.A. doomed to have Civil WAR II due to ANTI-Democracy minority rule gerrymanders – Fed-State-Local ???
Political parties often support candidates in non-partisan elections. California’s current Lt.Governor and one of its senators are former “non-partisan” mayors of San Francisco. And you noted the 2008 election where a supervisor candidate favored by the Democratic Party central committee was put on a door hanger with Obama.
While it is true that in regular elections there will always be a runoff between the top 2, this is not true of special elections – and the editorial that Schwartz was commenting on was specifically about the upcoming special election:
“The 36th District’s open primary”
“The race to fill Jane Harman’s congressional seat is a test of the state’s new election rules.”
The editorial suggested that Janice Hahn and Debra Bowen need not push hard left to cut off the more liberal Marcy Winograd, as they might in a Democratic Primary dominated by public workers unions.
On the issue of whether or not the Top 2 Open Primary would produce more moderate office holders, the LA Times editorial was guardedly optimistic, while Schwartz was skeptical. But that may simply reflect their role in the debate, the editorial board as a proponent, and the political scientist as observer and analyst.
It is yet to be seen whether less partisan voters will shun the primary election. Some unaffiliated voters may be properly be regarded as disaffiliated and not actively engaged in the political process. But others have been systematically excluded or discouraged from participation under the partisan primary system.
The top 2 primary is a partial IRV type election — with ALL of its EVIL defects.
STOP the EVIL — P.R. and App.V. — NO primaries.
what package do we get after doing political science?
and how can we do political science?
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