The Public Policy Institute of California concluded that if passed in June, Sen. Abel Maldonado’s ballot measure would do little to increase bipartisanship.
A new report released today by the Public Policy Institute of California suggests that, should California voters approve open primaries this June, the new system’s effect on partisanship would be slim to nil.
The so-called “top two vote-getter primary” would essentially erase party affiliations from the primary system and allow all voters, regardless of party, to choose the “top two” to send to the election. The ballot measure is one of the spoils of war State Sen. Abel Maldonado (R – Santa Maria) got when he crossed party lines during the last budget vote. Although our potential future lieutenant-governor lauds the concept as a way to decrease hardcore partisanship in Sacramento, the PPIC says other states with open primaries, and California’s similar “blanket” primaries from the late ’90s show the effect is minimal.
The report concludes that while the Assembly would likely see a slight increase in moderate candidates and more bipartisanship, the Senate would not, and that overall “we should not expect this reform to quickly or dramatically change the state’s partisan climate.” The report also mentions that blanket primaries did not result in voters “sabotaging” the rival party by voting for its weak candidates. It remains to be seen if the efficacy of the system even matters – in 2004, California voters turned down a very similar initiative.
Read the entire report at the PPIC website.
