2010 California Proposition 14
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Proposition 14 is a California ballot proposition that appeared on the ballot during the June, 2010 state elections. It is a constitutional amendment that changed California's election processes by consolidating all primary elections for a particular office into an election with one ballot that would be identical to all voters, regardless of their party preferences (a nonpartisan blanket primary). The two candidates with the most votes in the primary election would then be the only candidates who would run in the general election, regardless of their party preference, effectively transforming California legislative elections from first-past-the-post to a two-round system. The proposition was legislatively referred to voters by the State Legislature, and it was approved by 54% of the voters.
Background
Proposition 14 was a proposal to amend Sections 5 and 6 of Article II of the California State Constitution relating to elections. It is officially known as the Top Two Primaries Act.
It was authored by State Senator Abel Maldonado, who represented the 15th district as Senate Constitutional Amendment 4 of the 2009–2010 Regular Session (Resolution Chapter 2, Statutes of 2009).[1] It was passed in the State Senate by a vote of 27 to 12 and in the State Assembly by a vote of 54 to 20.[1] The proposition was publicly backed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, as part of a deal in which Maldonado agreed to support his proposed 2009–2010 state budget, and was opposed by political parties.[2]
Provisions
The passage of Proposition 14 changed the way that elections are conducted for all statewide offices in California (including the Governor and other executive positions, members of the State Legislature, and members of the State Board of Equalization), as well as for United States Senators and members of the United States House of Representatives. Proposition 14 does not affect the election of President and Vice-President of the United States, local offices, or non-partisan offices such as judges and the Superintendent of Public Instruction.[3]
Instead of allowing each political party to hold a primary election open to just its members (and independent voters, if the party chooses to do so) to determine its candidate for the general election, Proposition 14 proposed to create a single primary ballot that would be identical for all voters. All candidates running in the primary election, regardless of their political party preference (if any), would appear on that ballot. The two candidates with the most votes would then qualify for the general election, regardless of which party they identify with (if any).[3]
Results
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
 Yes
|
2,868,945 | 53.73 |
| No | 2,470,658 | 46.27 |
| Valid votes | 5,339,603 | 94.43 |
| Invalid or blank votes | 315,210 | 5.57 |
| Total votes | 5,654,813 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | 16,977,031 | 33.31 |
Newspaper endorsements
Papers supporting Prop 14
California Daily
References
- ^ a b "Bill Documents: SCA 4". California Legislative Counsel. Retrieved 2010-06-08.
- ^ Small, Julie (2010-06-10). "California's new primary system expected to change political landscape". KPCC. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
- ^ a b "Proposition 14 Analysis by the Legislative Analyst". California Statewide Direct Primary Election, Tuesday, June 8, 2010 Official Voter Information Guide. California Secretary of State. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
- ^ "June 8, 2010, Primary Election Statement of Vote" (PDF). California Secretary of State. 2010-07-16. Retrieved 2010-08-21.