On May 23, Duf Sundheim, speaking at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, predicted that the California legislature will put a repeal of the top-two system on the California ballot in 2018. The top-two system is embedded in the state Constitution, so the legislature cannot repeal it, but can only put a repeal on the ballot for the voters to decide.
Sundheim is a past California Republican Party state chair, and a candidate for U.S. Senate this year. He says he still supports the top-two system. In response to the point that it bars minor party and independent candidates from the November ballot, he said they weren’t winning even when they were on the November ballot. Actually several dozen minor party and independent candidates get elected to state office in every general election, around the U.S. Also his point ignores the fact that voters want a free choice of candidates in the election itself, even if many of those choices are not likely to win.
Top 2 stuff is a perversion version of IRV.
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NO primaries.
P.R. and nonpartisan App.V.
“the fact that voters want a free choice of candidates in the election itself, even if many of those choices are not likely to win.”
What evidence is there that this is a fact, rather merely the opinion of Richard Winger?
The evidence includes the point that California voter turnout declined more between November 2010 and November 2014 than in any other states. In November 2010 Californians had 6 choices for all the statewide offices, plus write-in space. In November 2014 Californians were the only Americans who either had to vote for a Dem or a Rep for all statewide offices, or they couldn’t vote at all. California turnout in November 2014 was only .67% of the November 2010 turnout. No other state declined so much. See the March 1, 2015 printed BAN.
From a recent Data Targeting survey:
“55% of respondents favor having an independent presidential ticket in 2016”
and
“65% of respondents are at least somewhat, pretty or very willing to support a candidate for President who is not Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton.”
It is doubtful that a majority of voters will not vote for Clinton or Trump in November, but they clearly want the option.
http://datatargeting.com/POTUS/
How about getting a 25 percent popular vote Prez ???
i.e. INSTANT Civil WAR II ???
The gerrymander MONSTERS since 1776 have really set up a total disaster
— nothing new in history when regimes have FATAL math (and other) defects in their structures.
e.g. the FATAL defects in the 1919 Germany Const exploited by Hitler in 1933,
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P.R. and nonpartisan App.V.
I would like to know how you feel about the Minimum Wage? Where do stand on the High Speed Rail. The tunnel under the Delta and water in General for the state of California. How do you feel about the Benghazi Incident. Where do you stand on the IRS Incident and Healthcare?
Wonder if Mr Sundheim will still support Top Two after Republicans get closed out of November’s Senate race. And he should not expect sympathy – Republicans usually lose when they run for election in California, so why should California put Republican candidates on the ballot?
Are even 35 percent of the remaining voters in CA Elephants ???
See the low percentage of Elephants in MA, RI, CT, MD, etc. —
something to do with Ocean water nearby ???
Actually they will collect signatures to put on ballot. Dems benefit and won’t do such a thing. However, Republicans Greens Libertarians American Independent Peace and Freedom will support. Maybe they will compromise and scrap Top 2 for Federal Elections.
@Demo Rep: Alaska has more ocean coastline than any other state, on two different oceans, yet they still have lots of Republicans.
Lone Wolf, Duf Sundheim said specifically “Democrats” will put it on the ballot. I didn’t fully quote him in the post. I probably should have. He also said Democrats in the legislature don’t like it. I know that some do like it, but I assume he knows what he is talking about and that a majority of Democrats in the legislature don’t like it. The chair of the Assembly Elections Committee, Shirley Weber, said earlier this year in a hearing that she feels it is bad policy because it limits choices in November.
In 2014, how many choices did Californians have for US Senator? ZERO
How much money was dumped into the senate and gubernatorial election in 2010 vs 2014? How many Meg-a-Millions???
The Elections Code provisions that implement “top two” are much more restrictive than the constitutional language that voters actually approved as Proposition 14 in June 2010. The constitutional language only requires that “the top two vote-getters at a voter-nominated primary election for a congressional or state elective office shall, regardless of party preference, compete in the ensuing general election”, and that the primary is a blanket primary. The constitutional language does not require that only the top two from the primary (and no one else) can compete in the general election; the Elections Code is what requres that.
If they chose to pass such a bill (and if the Governor would sign it), the Legislature could change the “top two” primary into a “top four” primary, or into something more complicated such as requiring a minimum percentage of the votes for those other than the top two and allowing otherwise continuing candidates other than the top two to withdraw (the “shall compete” in the constitution would prevent those in the top two from withdrawing, even if they wanted to do so).