CA voters pass Prop 14 -- which ensures that voters have fewer choices on election day

[nichomachus]

California voters approved Prop 14, called the Open Primary Law.

It provides that voters can vote for whomever they want in the primary and that the two top vote getters, regardless of party, will be the only ones on the November ballot.

While this was sold with the usual bullshit of "stopping partisan gridlock, blah blah, blah," It will be a disaster.

Minority parties will find it almost impossible to get state recognition.

Voters could be faced with the task of choosing between Fascist A and Fascist B in November.

Candidates in the primary don't have to reveal their party affiliation -- meaning that the only thing voters will have to go on are the multi-million dollar attack ads on TV.

http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/California_Proposition_14,_Top_Two_Primaries_Act_(June_2010)

California, at this moment, is only a few steps away from being Somalia. This proposition will push it the rest of the way.

[Lebam in LA]

1. I am ready to find somewhere else to live

Californians have shot themselves in the head and are too stupid to know it.

[left coaster]

5. Sweden.. here I come!

Naw.. I'm just joking.. mostly.. I think..

[Cant trust em]

2. If the top two vote getters were both fascists...

we were probably destined for fascism to begin with.

The more troubling thing about this to me is the more drawn out primary season that is going to cost more money. This plus the public campaign finance law losing is very disconcerting.

[nichomachus]

4. Not necessarily

In this most recent primary, Poizner and Megabucks Whitman spent over $100,000,000 attacking each other. Imagine a scenario, in which they could have used that money together to attack Jerry Brown to knock him off the ballot, assuring a fascist would win in November, and then attack each other once they both got on the final ballot.

[Cant trust em]

6. Good point. nt

[Parker CA]

3. Unbelievable that this crap passed. Big time losses in most of the props last night. nt

[KamaAina]

7. 16 and 17 both flipped No

while we were sleeping. :bounce:

[Subdivisions]

8. This country no longer belongs to the People. Until the People do something about it,

this country belongs to the Oligarchs.

[4lbs]

9. Unfortunately, it also means the very small, but possible chance, that we get TWO Repukes to choose

from after the open primary.

Imagine instead of Barbara Boxer (D) versus Carly Fiorina (R) for Senator, it was Fiorina (R) vs Campbell (R)!

It's unlikely, but still a chance.

[Brother Buzz]

13. Visualize a primary where all Democratic candidates run unopposed and no ballot props....

Democrats have no real motive to vote on a slam-dunk primary and stay home only to discover their candidate is bumped off the ballot.

[Retrograde]

14. The CA Democratic Party needs a wake-up kick

as does the CA Republican party. My congressional rep ran unopposed again in the primary yesterday, and since her district is heavily Democratic, rarely bothers to campaign. She votes correctly for the most part, but I'd like to see some challengers. Otherwise, the party is top-heavy with old pols (yeah, I'm looking at you, Jerry) and there is no apparent incentive to grow new talent.

BTW, I did not vote for this proposition.

[Brother Buzz]

15. I don't disagree with you sentiments but....

it boils down to GOTV. It's the complacent voters that need the wake-up kick.

Oh, California term limits assures new blood on the state level, yet extremely competent people like Jackie Speier are forced to move on.

I did not vote for this proposition nor did I vote for term limits.

[JDPriestly]

10. Does it do away with write-in votes?

I don't think it can.

[mrdmk]

12. Here is an answer to question! Warning a vomit receptacle will be needed...

Californians defeated Proposition 62 in 2004. According to Richard Winger, a "....detailed look at the 2010 ballot measure shows that it is significantly less respectful of voter rights than the 2004 California proposal had been."

Comparing the two, Winger says:

* The 2010 measure curtails the ability of voters to cast a write-in vote for anyone they wish in the general election by including as a provision "8606. A person whose name has been written on the ballot as a write-in candidate at the general election for a voter-nominated office shall not be counted." According to Winger, "If this passes, California would be one of only 7 states in which no voter could cast a write-in vote for Congress or state office in a November election, and have that write-in counted." Proposition 62 from 2004 had no such limitation. Californians have elected members of Congress using write-in votes in 1930, 1946 and 1982. That could not happen under the 2010 ballot proposition.<71>

* Proposition 62 had a provision in it to make it easier for smaller parties to remain ballot qualified. By contrast, the 2010 proposition does not. Winger says, "It it becomes law, the only way a party will be able to remain on the ballot will be to have registration above 1% of the last gubernatorial vote. Currently that requirement is 88,991 registrants, but after 2010 it is likely to be close to 100,000 registrants. In October 2008 the Peace & Freedom Party only had 56,350 registrants, and the Libertarian Party only had 83,574, so both parties would need to significantly increase their registration, if the 2010 measure passes."<71>

link: http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/California_Proposition_14,_Top_Two_Primaries_Act_%28June_2010%29#Ballot_title_challenge


There may be a constitutional problem with this amendment.

[mrdmk]

11. There was a problem with the link provided by the OP, corrected link is here!

link: http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/California_Proposition_14,_Top_Two_Primaries_Act_%28June_2010%29

Yeah, this measure to get more people to vote, my ass. It is designed to get less people to vote in the general election, because who will want to vote for Ass #1 or Ass#2.

here are the donors for yes on Prop 14:

California Dream Team $2,000,000
California Business PAC $720,000
Reed Hastings $257,328
California Association of Hospitals $250,000
Eli Broad $100,000
California Association of Health Underwriters $100,000
Hewlett-Packard $100,000
Brian Harvey $100,000
William Bloomfield $100,000
Herbalife International $100,000
Blue Shield of California $50,000
William Oberndorf $50,000

Total donations were a little over $5,200,000


here are the donors for no on Prop 14:

Jeff Denham: $50,000
California School Employees Association: $50,000
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees: $50,000

Total donations were a little over $250,000


Real good, the right got what it wanted, unfortunately people in California did not listen to the so called left. Not because the left did not speak up, because they could not get the message out!!!

On edit: replaced main election with general election (I think that I need that second cup of coffee since I lost the first one.)

[Initech]

16. We hit the trifecta of idiocy: Fiorina, Whitman, and Prop 14.

:argh: