In the last 15 years Washington and California have implemented an electoral system called the top-two primary, which reformed the structure of primary and general elections in their states. Under this system, all candidates running for a given seat (aside from the presidency) run in the same primary election, regardless of their party. The first and second-place finishers proceed to a runoff in the general election, which means that the general election could be between two candidates from the same party. Since enacted, about 17 percent of California’s congressional and legislative contests have resulted in one-party runoff elections, most of which occur in districts that provide a strong electoral advantage to one party.
Editorial pages, think tanks, and party leaders alike have bemoaned that single-party runoffs eliminate choice from the ballot, thus rendering voters from the other party irrelevant. My research finds that the opposite is true. CONT.
Steven Sparks (U. of Oklahoma), LSE USAPP