Voters approve California open primary

[tomm2thumbs]

Source: LA Times

Proposition 14 victory changes future elections for congressional, state legislative and statewide offices. California voters went to the polls Tuesday and recast future elections in the state by passing a ballot measure that creates open primaries, one of five propositions on the ballot.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who championed the open-primary measure, called its passage a "historic change" that "sends a clear message that Californians are tired of partisan gridlock and dysfunction."



Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-election-props-20100609,0,7404462.story

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Check out link to better story (BELOW, written before results) regarding details of Prop 14 & opposition from both parties... "Why on Earth would you want to destroy the two-party system?" demanded Colbert, who parodies a right-wing cable news host.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-prop14-20100524%2C0%2C2296906.story

[Auggie]

1. My head is spinning

14 passes while Prop 15 -- the Fair Elections Act -- fails.

[alp227]

11. Me too.

State politics is royally SCREWED now. With an open primary, candidates will be dedicating more time to fundraising as the primary gets more competitive and in the general election voter choice will be limited. With lobbyists off the hook and zero public campaign funding, the fundraising efforts will never end, and candidates will buy offices rather than win them.

[n2doc]

2. This makes it harder for third parties, not easier. n/t

[SpankMe]

3. How's this working in Washington state?

They have this same system there.

My concern is that the top 2 vote getters might be Republicans. Then, there's no incentive for moderation. Both will try to "out-conservative" each other to woo the Republican vote while Democrats stay home because they don't want to select from among two ghouls.

Special political interest won this initiative. It will favor Republicans.

[Frances]

4. Agree

I HATE the proposition nature of this state.

Each initiative just puts the government up for sale. PGE spent MY money that I pay for electricity and gas to tell lies so that PGE can prevent competition.

Almost every time an initiative goes before the voters, whichever side spends the most money wins. And the side that has and spends the most money is a corporation.

[mikelgb]

6. While that may be true in Orange County maybe not in San Francisco

In SF you may see a Dem vs Green or even two Dems

[Frances]

7. Just curious

Would this law apply to local as well as state-wide elections?

[mikelgb]

9. The proposition says statewide. It mandates most local offices be nonpartisan.

Many local offices are non-partisan anyway.

[tqla]

5. Does anybody have an informed forecast for this?

I voted against this measure. I find this blurb from the article interesting - all Parties opposed it!

Under an open primary system, voters will no longer be limited to choosing among candidates from their own parties. Proposition 14 puts the top two vote-getters in primary races for congressional, state legislative and statewide offices, regardless of political party, in a face-off in the general election.

Backers of the measure said the shift would produce more moderate candidates because they would have to appeal to a wider group of voters.

The state Democratic and Republican parties opposed the change, as did minor parties.

[mikelgb]

8. It is hard to say how it will play out statewide

In the voting booth I too let the party loyalist in me dictate a NO vote, but I wavered.

I think the fact that the parties opposed it is a good thing, and now that it has passed I am intrigued as to how it will work.

It is possible to analyze this primary and see who would have won, but it won't account for the ability to vote out of party.

[tqla]

10. Hmmm. I guess we'll just have to see.