California Repeal Top-Two Primary Initiative (2018)
| California Repeal Top-Two Primary Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 6, 2018 | |
| Topic Electoral systems | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
The California Repeal Top-Two Primary Initiative (#17-0020) was not on the ballot in California as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 6, 2018.
The measure would have repealed California's top-two primary system, which voters passed as Proposition 14 in 2010, and provided for partisan primary elections in which nominees are selected for general elections.[1]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The official ballot title was as follows:[2]
| “ | Repeals Current Primary Election System in State and Congressional Elections. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.[3] | ” |
Petition summary
The summary provided for inclusion on signature petition sheets was as follows:[2]
| “ | Repeals the current primary elections system which provides for all candidates for an office to appear on a single primary ballot and for the two candidates with the most votes in the primary to advance to the general election, irrespective of party. Creates a primary election system based on political party for congressional, state legislative, and most statewide offices. Gives political parties that participate in the primary election for a partisan office the right to participate in the general election for that office.[3] | ” |
Fiscal impact
- Note: The fiscal impact statement for a California ballot initiative authorized for circulation is prepared by the state's legislative analyst and director of finance.
The fiscal impact statement was as follows:[2]
| “ | No significant net change in state and local government costs to administer elections.[3] | ” |
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article II, California Constitution
The measure would have amended Section 5 of Article II of the California Constitution.[1] The full text of the constitutional amendment is available here.
Sponsor
Thomas Palzer, a 2016 Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in California, proposed the ballot initiative. Palzer said the 2016 U.S. Senate election, in which two Democrats advanced to the general election, "really enlightened me in terms of the top-two... the odds were slim of any Republican getting on the ticket." He continued, "I’m not doing this to grease the slicks for myself...regardless of party, it’s a bad law and it needs to be repealed. It affects every voter. They’re being cheated out of the ability to look at top candidates from every party and then make their decision."[4]
Path to the ballot
In California, the number of signatures needed to qualify a measure for the ballot is based on the total number of votes cast for the office of governor. For an initiated constitutional amendment, petitioners must collect signatures equal to 8 percent of the most recent gubernatorial vote. To get a measure on the 2018 ballot, the number of signatures required was 585,407. In California, initiatives can be circulated for 180 days. Signatures needed to be certified at least 131 days before the 2018 general election, which was around June 28, 2018. As the signature verification process can take several weeks, the California secretary of state issues suggested deadlines for several months before the certification deadline.
The timeline for the initiative is as follows:[5]
- Thomas Palzer submitted a letter requesting a title and summary on August 21, 2017.
- A title and summary were issued by the California attorney general's office on October 24, 2017.
- Proponents of the initiative needed to submit 585,407 valid signatures by April 23, 2018, in order for it to make the 2018 ballot.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 California Attorney General, "Initiative #17-0020," August 21, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 California Secretary of State, "Initiatives and Referenda Cleared for Circulation," accessed March 6, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The Sacramento Bee, "Republican moves to eliminate California’s top-two election system," August 22, 2017
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Ballot Measures," accessed August 22, 2017
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