<!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ --></p> <p>By Alan Zundel, especially for CalMatters</p> <figure> <img decoding="async" width=""1200"" height=""800"" src=""https://i0.wp.com/calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/110425_CASpecialElection_JK_CM_30.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1"" class=""attachment-post-thumbnail" size-post-thumbnail="" wp-post-image="" alt=""A" blue="" and="" white="" lawn="" sign="" that="" says="" here="" in="" different="" languages="" is="" placed="" near="" a="" sidewalk="" where="" people="" wait="" line="" to="" enter="" vote="" center.="" decoding=""async"" loading=""lazy"" srcset=""https://i0.wp.com/calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/110425_CASpecialElection_JK_CM_30.jpg?w=2000&ssl=1" https:="" sizes=""auto,"/><figcaption>A person leaves a voting center at the California Museum in Sacramento on Nov. 4, 2025. Photo by Jungho Kim for CalMatters</figcaption></figure> <p>This comment was originally posted by <a href=""https://calmatters.org/"">CalMatters</a>. <a href=""https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/"">Sign up</a> for their newsletters.</p> <p>Guest Comment written by</p> <p><em>Re: “Democratic anger and manipulation threaten political reform in California,” </em><br />Dan Walters wrote in his commentary that the splitting of the Democratic vote in the gubernatorial race and the redistricting wars that California and Texas have waged threaten California’s first two primary and independent redistricting reforms.</p> <p>Change is good for me, especially the change of the top two primaries. But going back to a closed primary system is a step backwards, not forwards. </p> <p>Going back to party primaries, an open primary would be better than a closed primary. In an open primary, each voter can choose which party in the primary they want to vote for. Thus, independents are not excluded from the primaries.</p> <p>Even better, stick with the first two, but use an endorsement vote instead of a “pick just one candidate” vote. In the endorsement vote, you can vote for as many candidates as you like. </p> <p>Essentially, instead of asking each voter which candidate they like best, you ask how many voters like each candidate. The first two candidates would actually be the most popular, not just the ones who managed to get a small fraction of the first choice vote that defeated the smaller fractions of the other candidates.</p> <p>It’s a simple and effective way to improve our top two primaries for a single-person office like governor.</p> <p>For elected bodies that will have many members, such as the state legislature or our delegates to the US House of Representatives, gerrymandering can be allowed by creating constituencies that elect more than one member at a time. </p> <p>You do this by introducing a system of proportional representation, such as those that have been used in most modern democracies for many, many years. Drawing districts would be a much less contentious process, and the results would better reflect the views of the electorate—you know, <em>representative</em> democracy.</p> <p>Let us not allow the flaws in the current system or the pressures of national political maneuvering to return us to the equally flawed previous electoral systems that needed reform to begin with.</p> <p>This article was <a href=""https://calmatters.org/commentary/reader-reactions/2026/03/election-system-california-voting-method/"">originally published on CalMatters</a> and is republished under <a href=""https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/"">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives</a> license.</p> <p> Copy the HTML
