California jungle primary election is unfair to minor party candidates, lawsuit says

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MINOR PARTIES SUE STATE TO UNDO JUNGLE PRIMARY LAW

Fourteen years ago, Californians voted to enact a “jungle primary” system, also known as a “top two” system, for its primary elections. Now, three minor political parties are suing to overturn it.

The Peace and Freedom Party, the Green Party and the Libertarian Party — whose combined membership as of the March 2024 primary election was slightly fewer than 500,000 registered voters — have teamed up with five political candidates to file a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

They allege that the jungle primary system — where the top two vote-getters move on to the general election, regardless of political affiliation — discriminates against them and deprives voters of a true choice in November, where many races feature a Democrat versus a Democrat or Republican versus a Republican.

“The Top-Two system, since its enactment, has created an unconstitutionally insurmountable barrier to general election ballot access for any minor party or independent candidate. In almost every contest for elective office covered by the Top-Two primary system, in which at least two major party (Republican or Democratic Party) candidates appeared in the primary, no minor party or independent candidate has been allowed access to the general election ballot,” the complaint alleges.

There was at least one exception in 2024, where Republican Assemblyman Heath Flora, R-Ripon, ran (and overwhelmingly won) against American Independent Party candidate Tami Nobriga.

Still, the plaintiffs argue in the complaint that the jungle primary system violates both the First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment rights of minor party and independent candidates, as well as “the rights of voters who wish to vote for and associate with minor political parties, their candidates and the issues for which they stand.”

Proposition 14 won with a narrow majority (53%) of votes in 2010, and followed the example set by Washington state in 2004, according to the nonpartisan election tracking site Ballotpedia.

In the March 2024 primary election, the Peace and Freedom Party had 138,238 registered voters, the Green Party had 102,659 voters; and the Libertarian Party had 240,618 voters. For comparison, there were 10.2 million Democratic voters, 5.3 million Republicans and 4.8 million No Party Preference voters.

The Bee reached out to the California Secretary of State’s Office, the named defendant in the lawsuit, for comment, but none was received by deadline.

You can read the complaint for yourself here.

SENATE GOP CELEBRATES FLIPPING DEMOCRATIC SEAT RED

The Senate Republican Caucus on Monday declared victory in the Senate District 37 race between Republican former Assemblyman Steven Choi and Democratic Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton.

If the results hold — Choi leads with 50.7% of the vote to Newman’s 49.3% — it would be the first time since 1980 that the California Republican Party flipped a blue seat red in a general election.

“It is a true honor to be selected by my neighbors to represent their needs in the legislature and I aim to get started immediately making sure we pass responsible, effective legislation that makes life easier for everyday Californians,” Choi said in a statement.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees spent heavily against Newman in the general election, prompting Senate President pro Tem Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, to label the union “morally bankrupt,” according to CalMatters. AFSCME opposed Newman due to his vote against ACA 6, which would have required certain basic labor standards for employees of the University of California Board of Regents, according to a summary of the bill from CalMatters’ Digital Democracy archive.

That bill failed to get enough “Yes” votes to pass out of the Senate Standing Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments; Newman was the lone “No” vote on it.

If Choi is certified the winner, the Senate GOP Caucus will grow to 10 members this December.

Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones, R-Santee, said in a statement that Californians voted Newman out because they are “increasingly frustrated with the failures of Democrat leadership.”

“Senate Republicans are not only growing in numbers but also diversity. Heading into 2025, we’re proud to expand our caucus to 10 members, up from 8 members just one year ago. With this strengthened team, we’ll continue fighting to deliver real results and fix California,” Jones said.

The Senate GOP notched wins in other races this cycle, with former Assemblywoman Suzette Martinez Valladares winning a seat in Senate District 23 and Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh winning reelection in her new district of Senate District 19. Those races did not feature a Democratic incumbent, but were considered heavily contested.

Though this growth is notable, the party remains a superminority in the Senate. If election results hold, there will be 30 Democrats in the Senate this December.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Will we cozy up to bigots, authoritarians, and wannabe fascists who have goals that are incompatible with basic human rights, just because they pretend to be ‘against Big Tech?’ Or will we draw a line in the sand, and build a meaningful resistance movement fighting for technology to be a force for justice and liberation rather than tyranny and greed? This is the question of our moment. I could not sit silently without asking it.”

- Fight for the Future Director Evan Greer, on why she disrupted a Project Liberty summit on the future of the internet where Rep. Nancy Mace, R-South Carolina, was speaking, after Mace pushed hard for a ban on trans women using women’s bathrooms at the U.S. Capitol and also introduced a bill to enact such a ban on all federal property, via a blog post.

Best of The Bee:

• Why Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination for intelligence chief worries California’s senators, via David Lightman.

• Is California’s battle against Trump a PR stunt? Here’s what Newsom’s ex-chief of staff says, via Andrew Sheeler.

• Newsom said California will offer EV rebates if Trump cuts them. Here’s where the money could come from, via Ari Plachta.

• California manager encouraged state applicants to lie on application, audit reports, via William Melhado.

This story was originally published November 26, 2024 at 4:55 AM.