This Sacramento Bee story analyzes California’s June 5 primary and concludes that the top-two open primary did not cause more moderates to succeed.
This Sacramento Bee story analyzes California’s June 5 primary and concludes that the top-two open primary did not cause more moderates to succeed.
I hope Froma Harrop sees this story.
The Top2 system has proven to be a bad rap for any state that has used it. I suggest that if you want a runoff system to work, which would mean a 2Round system obviously, you should allow the following:
– First round with voters voting for as many candidates as they wish (with a None of the Above and All of the Above option included).
– Second round would allow the square root of the total number of participating candidates to qualify.
Gee what progress ???
– TWO extremists nominated in each rigged gerrymander district
— instead of merely ONE extremist in each party gang primary, caucus or convention in the OLD system in each rigged gerrymander district.
P.R. and nonpartisan App.V. — to END the EVIL rot.
Here is my comment on the Sacramento Bee
Of course this primary looks like other CA primaries, and many moderate candidates didn’t qualify for the top two runoff. Wanna know why? Its because CA voters, like Americans generally, don’t want to make TWO treks to their polling places. Its a question of motivation. The more motivated extremist and partisan voters are willing to bother to vote in the primary and general election, while moderate-minded voters don’t feel moved to make the effort twice in one election. Election reform in CA is NOT COMPLETE. We need Internet voting, so that the effort to vote won’t require the annoyance of going to a polling place, finding parking, standing in line, facing an unfamiliar machine, disrupting a busy day, etc When people can vote any time, day or night, from any place, home, work, vacation, etc and on their Smart Phone, PC, or iPad – then the very technology will invite the moderate-minded to vote in every election. Then gridlock will be broken, and politicians will become problem solvers. Bring Top Two into the 21st Century, and it will work very well.
William J. Kelleher, Ph.D.
Twitter: wjkno1
Author: Internet Voting Now!
“Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, R-Twin Peaks, earned just over half the votes from San Bernardino and will move onto the general election with Democrat John Coffey. Big Bear Lake Mayor Bill Jahn, the third candidate in the race and the more moderate Republican, missed out on the top two with 19 percent of the votes compared with Coffey’s 29 percent.”
Donnelly was the incumbent in a district in which the Republicans received 71% of the vote. The author of the article somehow thinks that Democrats would vote for a “more moderate” Republican.
“Similarly in Irvine, Assemblyman Allan Mansoor, R-Costa Mesa, and Democrat Robert Rush will be on the November ballot after earning 43 percent and 33 percent of the votes, respectively. Third candidate Leslie Daigle, a moderate Republican, walked away with 24 percent of the votes.”
Once again a heavily Republican district (67%) with a Republican incumbent.
# 4 Oregon manages to barely survive with ALL postal snail ballots — BUT has the standard minority rule gerrymander districts.