[EL] CA 3rd parties and top-two

[Douglas Johnson]

Re: " I will never understand why the leaders of the minor parties didn't
join together to urge their members to vote against the measure"

 

I believe they did just that. But the combined registration among all 3rd
parties in California is 4.09%
<http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ror/ror-pages/15day-presprim-12/>  of
registered voters. And if we take into consideration the estimated 2/3 (or
more) of those registered "American Independent" think they're registering
"Independent" (rather than with the party that George Wallace founded
<http://www.aipca.org/history.html>  as part of his 1968 segregationist
campaign), the "other" party registration drops down to 2.41% of all
registered voters.

 

The current rundown of California registrants:

Democratic:                                   43.39%

Republican:                                   30.24%

"No Party Preference":                  21.31%

American Independent:                  2.53%

Green:                                            0.65%

Libertarian:                                     0.55%

Peace & Freedom:                          0.35%

Americans Elect:                            0.02%

Other:                                             0.98%

 

Note that "Other," which consists mainly of people who have not updated
their party registrations since the party they used to belong to went out of
existence, outnumbers every 3rd party except "American Independent" (and
would outnumber them except for the voter confusion mentioned above).

 

- Doug

 

Douglas Johnson

Fellow

Rose Institute of State and Local Government

m 310-200-2058

o 909-621-8159

douglas.johnson at cmc.edu

 

 

 

 

 

From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu
[mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] On Behalf Of Larry
Levine
Sent: Saturday, June 23, 2012 9:48 AM
To: richardwinger at yahoo.com; law-election at uci.edu
Subject: Re: [EL] New Hampshire Sec. of State seems to defy First Circuit

 

As a practical matter, California's "top-two" primary system denies access
to the ballot to all minor party candidates in the General Election, at
which members of the state and federal legislature will be elected. Every
four years it also will deny access to minor party candidates for statewide
constitutional office. Yes, I know, they can qualify for the General
Election ballot by finishing in the top two in the Primary. But remember, I
said "as a practical matter". I will never understand why the leaders of the
minor parties didn't join together to urge their members to vote against the
measure that created this system and I can't understand why they haven't
challenged it in court. 

Larry

 

From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu
[mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] On Behalf Of Richard
Winger
Sent: Saturday, June 23, 2012 9:27 AM
To: law-election at uci.edu
Subject: [EL] New Hampshire Sec. of State seems to defy First Circuit

 


http://www.ballot-access.org/2012/06/23/new-hampshire-secretary-of-state-dec
ides-not-to-give-libertarian-party-its-own-party-column-even-if-it-successfu
lly-qualifies/

Richard Winger
415-922-9779
PO Box 470296, San Francisco Ca 94147

 

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