On June 8 Californians made a huge change in our election system. With the passage of Proposition 14, we did away with the partisan primary system for state and federal offices, with the exception of President. In future elections we will have a primary election in which all candidates are on the same ballot; the two candidates with the most votes advance to the general election.
Most political activists--whether they be Republicans or Democrats--wanted to keep the partisan primary system. Fifteen years ago I would have agreed, but I think the recent history of California shows that partisan primaries are no longer helpful.
In the past twenty years the two major parties have become more ideologically distinct. The Democrats have become more liberal and the Republicans have become more conservative. At the same time, the number of people who do not identify with either party continues to grow. Even many people who belong to a political party do not identify strongly with a party.
In the recent race for Governor we saw two Republican candidates, Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner, compete to win the support of Republicans. They spent a combined total of about one hundred million dollars in the primary, appealing to the conservative side of the electorate. Jerry Brown had no serious opposition for the Democratic nomination, so he chose to save his money rather than spend it on advertising in the primary.
Many voters would have appreciated the opportunity to compare all three candidates in the primary. If voters could choose among all three candidates the political discussion would be much different. Whitman and Poizner would very likely have found it worth their while to appeal to voters in the middle, and perhaps even liberals, rather than simply battling for the conservative vote. Brown would have had to compete with both of them. In general, I believe the new system will encourage candidates to appeal to a wider base of voters.
Starting in 2012, the November elections will also be different in many cases. In areas that are strongly Republican or strongly Democratic, it is likely that the top two candidates could be from the same political party. Some people think this is a terrible thing. I disagree. If a district chooses two candidates from the same political party, the voters in the other party could choose the one they find more reasonable.
With the new system, candidates of both parties will be forced to appeal to a wider base of voters. This will make it easier for our leaders to work together to pass a budget and try to solve the major problems we have in our state. Equally important, the growing number of voters who do not identify with a political party will have a more meaningful role in the political process.
When I think about the huge challenges we face as a state, such as finding a stable funding base for education, converting to a green economy, and promoting middle class jobs, I do not see any way we can accomplish these goals in the political system as it exists. I welcome the change. As a progressive, I voted for Proposition 14 because I think there is more to politics than simply supporting people I agree with. I want to encourage leaders of all types to actually focus on getting something done. I also see lasting change happening only when a large majority of the voters are engaged in the process.
