Democracy works best when the greatest number of people participate. It is on the basis of that core belief that the Independent Voter Project wrote Prop. 14, a ballot measure that changed the state’s primary system, in 2010.
Under the new top-two rule, California’s primary elections were transformed from partisan to nonpartisan elections for all statewide offices. As in local elections, any voter can participate, regardless of party — or lack thereof. Unlike our local elections, however, the top two candidates always face off in the general election, whether a single candidate received a majority in the primary.