“Ten years later, California’s ‘top two’ primary isn’t always what it seems”

John Myers has this piece in the LA Times. From the article:

“The promises made by supporters of the top-two primary largely fell into one of three categories: increased participation by the state’s growing number of independent voters, a decrease in the number of ultrapartisans elected to office and more competitive races for seats in the California Legislature and Congress.

“In order to change government we need to change the kind of people we send to the Capitol to represent us,” backers wrote in the 2010 voter guide in favor of Proposition 14.

But the results from a decade of primary elections seem thin — especially when considering the promise that the election rules would inspire more participation by California’s independent voters, those registered as having “no party preference.” Under the traditional “closed primary” system, political parties used to often exclude independent voters from their state and congressional primaries. In California races, Proposition 14 made a voter’s affiliation irrelevant.

And yet, independent voters haven’t rushed in to cast ballots.”

Further:

On the second promise — an expectation that the top-two primary would boost moderate, centrist candidates — it’s unclear how many voters would even want that outcome in the current political environment, much less whether they would know how to make it happen.

While Proposition 14 was the product of late-night deal making in Sacramento to pass a state budget in 2009, Peace and others had drafted versions of the new primary rules as far back as 2006, a political period in which then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger promised the dawn of a “post-partisan” era of politics that valued pragmatism and common ground.

And:

Nor has the top-two primary changed the fundamental way that candidates win elections.

Should the Sierra Nevada state Senate race end up with two Democrats — labor leader Tim Robertson and school administrator Marie Alvarado-Gil — it’s likely that most of the region’s Republicans will skip the race in November. Same-party runoffs on the fall ballot have not produced elections in which candidates build broad coalitions. Instead, the campaigns routinely look to elevate minor differences between the two hopefuls, a strategy frequently financed by powerful niche interest groups.

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