By James Doull
Alan Reynolds is an Independent candidate running for lieutenant governor in California. Choosing to run as an independent, according to Reynolds, is one thing that sets him apart from the other candidates in the race.
Running as an Independent will give the voters another option outside of the two major parties. Reynolds believes that the two-party system voters have been stuck with isn’t serving the interest of the people.
“It’s not one person, one voice,” he said. “Right now we have two parties ‐‐ in California I’d say one‐and‐a‐half parties, and the only thing they agree on is staying in power.”
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One benefit of the nonpartisan system, he believes, is that it seems to allow more moderate candidates to get through to the general election. Reynolds says more moderate and centrist candidates better represent the views of the voting public. Decreasing party polarization might also allow voters to unify their efforts and focus more on pragmatic solutions, as rationality replaces ideology.
He also believes, however, that Top-Two may not offer enough reform. First, California didn’t do enough to help implement the new process as only 25 percent of voters knew they could vote for any primary candidate in the last election. Additionally, under Top‐Two, it is difficult to assess how much support third parties have because they rarely make it to the general election.
Read the full article here.
More specifically, it strengthens the establishment faction of those parties and their super-wealthy and big interest megadonors.
The evidence shows that top-two strengthens the Democratic and Republican Parties. I wish Electoral Watch would explain why he or she thinks it weakens them. Top-two strengthens major party leaders because it gives them the clout to persuade or even intimidate candidates from running, on the excuse that if the field is not limited to only two candidates from that major party, then that major party runs the risk of being squeezed out of the general election. We have seen that happen just last week, as all but two prominent Democrats have said they won’t run for Congressman Waxman’s open seat.
Approval voting with easy to get party labels and 100% privately funded and administered primaries/conventions would be much better.
Two-man runoff and jungle omnipartisan primary is a good first step; it helps destroy political parties and facilitate the rise of truly independent politics. However, it doesn’t go far enough. Nonpartisan instant-runoff voting is needed at every level.