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Describing Louisiana's electoral system: Ballotpedia's preferred terminology and rationale
Louisiana's electoral system for local, state, and federal offices differs markedly from those employed in the other 49 states. In Louisiana, all candidates running for a local, state, or federal office appear on the same ballot in either October (in odd-numbered years) or November (in even-numbered years), regardless of their partisan affiliations. If a candidate wins a simple majority of all votes cast for the office (i.e., 50 percent, plus one vote), he or she wins the election outright. If no candidate meets that threshold, the top two finishers, regardless of their partisan affiliations, advance to a second election in December. In that election, the candidate who receives the greatest number of votes wins.
The terms used to describe this electoral system have several shortcomings: they carry negative connotations and lack descriptive substance. This document summarizes the existing terminology used to describe an electoral system like that used in Louisiana, describes the shortcomings of each existing term, and proposes a new terminology meant to eliminate negative connotations and improve understanding of the electoral system through increased clarity and specificity.
Existing terminology
Two phrases are used by the general public and state officials to describe this electoral system: jungle primary and majority-vote primary paired with plurality-vote general election.
The general public commonly refers to this electoral system as a jungle primary.[1]
Louisiana's secretary of state describes the state's electoral system as a majority-vote primary paired with a plurality-vote general election:[2]
- "All statewide and local candidates in Louisiana are elected by majority vote. A majority vote is one more than 50% of the total votes cast for that office. When one candidate is to be elected, a candidate who receives a majority of the votes cast for an office in a primary election is elected. If no candidate receives a majority, the top two candidates who receive the most votes advance to the general election."
- "The candidate who receives the most votes cast for an office in a general election is elected. If two or more offices are to be filled, those candidates receiving the highest total of votes are elected to the number of offices to be filled. If there is a tie vote among more candidates than offices to be filled, all candidates who received the highest number of tie votes advance to another election to be held on the 3rd Saturday after the promulgation of the election results."
Problems with the existing terminology
Jungle primary
The application of this term to describe any electoral system presents two problems. First, the term has negative connotations. In this context, the adjectival use of "jungle" suggests disorderliness and chaos. Its use infers a negative judgment against the electoral system. Second, the term lacks descriptive force. It does little to explain the substance or function of the system it is used to describe.
Majority-vote primary election
This term is an improvement over "jungle primary." It contains no negative connotations, and it more closely describes the substance and function of the system. Still, this term lacks precision. A primary election is most precisely construed as an election used either to narrow the field of candidates for a given office or to determine the nominees for political parties in advance of a general election. Given this definition, a candidate cannot win election to an office outright in a primary. A candidate can only win an office in a general election.
Plurality-vote general election
This term does not clearly communicate the possibility of outright election in the first phase of the process (i.e., the November election). As such, it is misleading. Further, in most cases, the vote threshold for this election is effectively a simple majority (i.e, if only two candidates can advance to the general election, one of those candidates is practically guaranteed a majority share of the total vote).
Preferred terminology
In response to the shortcomings of the aforementioned existing terms, Ballotpedia refers to Louisiana's electoral system as the Louisiana majority-vote system.
This term hews closely to the terms presently used by the Louisiana secretary of state. However, it does not incorporate the misleading "primary" and "general" descriptors. Instead, it encompasses both phases of the process without obscuring the possibility of election in the first phase.
If circumstances arise requiring further precision, the following expansions can be applied:
- Louisiana majority-vote system, first round: This describes what has traditionally been referred to as the "jungle primary."
- Louisiana majority-vote system, second round: This describes what has traditionally been referred to as the "general," "general runoff," or "runoff" election.
Other terms and considerations
Additional terms, listed below, have sometimes been used synonymously with "jungle primary." These are inappropriate applications in light of the aforementioned description of Louisiana's electoral process. These terms are presented below with their precise definitions and examples of real-world application.[3]
- Blanket primary: In a blanket primary, voters choose one candidate per office regardless of the candidate's partisan affiliation. The top vote-getters from each party participating in the primary then advance to the general election.
- How this differs from Louisiana's majority-vote system: A candidate in a blanket primary cannot win election outright, as is the case in Louisiana. Also, in Louisiana, two candidates affiliated with the same political party might advance to round two. This cannot be the case in a blanket primary.
- Current application: No state conducts blanket primaries for state-level and congressional elections.
- Top-two primary: In a top-two primary, all candidates appear on the same ballot. The top two vote-getters, regardless of partisan affiliations and the amount of support received by either, advance to the general election. In a top-two primary, it is possible for two candidates affiliated with the same party to face off in the general election.
- How this differs from Louisiana's majority-vote system: A candidate in a top-two primary cannot win election outright, as is the case in Louisiana. The two are similar only in that it is possible for two candidates affiliated with the same party to advance to succeeding phases of the election process.
- Current application: California and Washington conduct top-two primaries for all state-level and congressional elections.
See also
Footnotes
