Full Text of Proposition

What does it do Amends the state constitution to provide for an open primary (i.e. anyone can vote for any candidate regardless of party affiliation), but also says that only the top two vote getters from the primary get to be candidates in the general election, regardless of party. Does not apply to the election of candidates for president of the United States.

How I plan to vote: Probably Yes

Why? This one is really tricky. I like the idea of an open primary. I voted for the open primary proposition that passed in California in 1996, which was later ruled unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court. Apparently this proposition is constitutionally acceptable, though I can't for the life of me see why, at least on the basis of my understanding of the Supreme Court ruling. I probably need to look into that further.

The only the top two candidates advance to the primary thing is tricky, too. In a great many cases, this would result in a near-complete absence of third-party candidates from the general election ballot, and I don't expect that most of my Libertarian, Green, or Peace and Freedom voting friends would be thrilled at that. On the other hand, let's get real - any third-party candidate who is going to win has to attract a whole lotta votes from Democrats and/or Republicans - and they could do that in an open primary.

Opponents of this have made much of the fact that this could result in a ballot with two candidates of the same party. A Democrat might be forced to make a choice between two Republicans! Horror of horrors! But, just as an oversimplified example, imagine a primary where 42% of the electorate voted for Republican A, 38% voted for Republican B, and 20% voted for the Democrat. How is it an accurate reflection of voters' preferences to make them choose between Republican A and the Democrat? And in such a situation, a Republican is likely to win anyway - prop 62 would at least give me a choice of Republicans.

In an ideal world, I would like to see California adopt an instant runoff voting system for all offices. But until that happens, prop 62 might be a step in the right direction. I think I need to do some more thinking and some more research. (A similar system is in place in Louisiana, where, opponents claim, it allowed David Duke to make a serious run for governor and massively reduced voter turnout. This admittedly gives me some pause, but I think one would have to look at the data more carefully before assuming that results from Louisiana apply to California.)