State of Elections

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Search Results for: Nathan Yu

All Bark, No Bite: How California’s Top-Two Primary System Reinforces the Status Quo

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by Nathan Yu

During the November 6 general election, the state of California saw the effects of one fascinating component of its electoral system:  its top-two open primary.

Over two years ago, California voters proposed and passed Proposition 14, a ballot initiative that drastically reformed the state’s primary system. Prior to Prop 14, California conducted closed primary elections, which meant a voter could only vote for candidates in his own political party. The candidate with the most votes from each “qualified” political party—the Democratic Party, Republican Party, American Independent Party, Americans Elect Party, Green Party, Libertarian Party, and Peace & Freedom Party—advanced to the general election where he would face the candidates who advanced from the other parties. In a sense, the old system guaranteed that a third party or independent candidate could secure a spot on the November general election ballot. [Read more…] about All Bark, No Bite: How California’s Top-Two Primary System Reinforces the Status Quo

Who Draws the Lines? California Experiment Intact, For Now

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by Nathan Yu and Chelsea Bobo

When American legislators sit down to redraw district lines it is difficult to disentangle this redistricting process from the evils of gerrymandering and other forms of partisan abuse. Perhaps the party members we elect should not be closely involved in determining what our electoral districts look like. This is the conclusion a slim majority of California voters reached four years ago with the approval of Proposition 11. Also known as the Voters FIRST Act, Proposition 11 set up the California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CCRC), an independent redistricting commission. [Read more…] about Who Draws the Lines? California Experiment Intact, For Now

Until We Meet Again: Putting the California-Amazon Battle on Hold, for Now

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The lengthy dispute between the State of California and Amazon took a dramatic turn on September 10th when state lawmakers and the online retail giant agreed to a compromise bill that will put an end, pending Governor Jerry Brown’s approval, to the drawn-out sales tax controversy—at least for now.  Under the new measure, Seattle-based Amazon will begin to collect sales tax from customers in California in September 2012 barring future federal legislation.  Given the amount of effort Amazon exerted during its battle with the Golden State, this concession may surprise many.

Currently, California is one of 24 states that permit referendums, which are proposals brought by citizen petition, to repeal a law previously enacted by the legislature.  In California, 500,000 signatures are needed to push issues onto a state ballot.  Prior to the agreement, Amazon had already spent $5.25 million on its campaign to obtain the necessary number of signatures.  The campaign reflected Amazon’s belief that voters, if given an opportunity, would support the repeal of the tax law.  However, as part of last Friday’s deal, Amazon will ditch its campaign and drop the referendum effort.  [Read more…] about Until We Meet Again: Putting the California-Amazon Battle on Hold, for Now

Weekly Wrap-Up

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Fox News wants to make sure their viewers know they don’t endorse Democrats. The network has sued Democratic Senate candidate Robin Carnahan for copyright violations based on a campaign ad. Fox News wants to ensure that the public knows the network has not endorsed a candidate in the Missouri race and says the ad, which shows Chris Wallace interviewing Carnahan’s opponent about allegations that he acted improperly while in Congress, makes it appear that Wallace is speaking on the side of the campaign. The suit is considered by some experts to be the first case where a media outlet has sued a political campaign over copyright violations. There are also concerns that this is not a true copyright concern because, according to copyright lawyer Ben Sheffner, copyright disputes are about revenue not reputation damage. The ad has been pulled from the web and YouTube, but is still airing on television. The case is currently pending in federal courts.

Dreaming of a Third Party? Libertarians in Georgia are dreaming of a permanent place on the ballot. Their gubernatorial candidate, John Monds, is polling at 9% while the Republican candidate, Nathan Deal, continues to have financial problems. If Monds can capture over 20% of the vote, the Libertarians will be considered a “political party” under state election law, allowing them to hold primary elections and be guaranteed ballot access in future races. In the past, no Libertarian candidate for governor has surpassed 4% of the vote. Read about it here.

[Read more…] about Weekly Wrap-Up