Politics & Government
The New Open Primary: All Parties Welcome
If you've ever wished you could vote for a candidate in the another party, California's new Open Primary Act presents some opportunity to do so.
By Gabrielle Tiemann
Have you ever received your ballot and wished you could vote for the candidate of the other party? Well, thanks to California’s newly enacted Top Two Candidates Open Primary Act you will be able to do just that.
In past primary elections, all candidates running within the same political party were place on a partisan ballot and the top vote-getter would become the candidate for his/her party in the general election.
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Under this new open primary act, all candidates running for congressional or state elective offices, regardless of their party, will appear on a single ballot, and voters can vote for any candidate from any political party.
Then, it will be the top two vote getters—regardless of party—who will move to the general election in November.
Find out what's happening in Los Altoswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
But please note: this act does NOT apply to the United States presidential race, and other local and school elective offices.
To learn more about this and other issues affecting the June 5th Primary join the League of Women Voters, Los Altos-Mountain View when they present a Pros and Cons presentation at the Foothills Congregational Church, 461 Orange Ave., Los Altos, on Sunday the 13th of May from 11:30am to 12:30.
Gabrielle Tiemann is a member of the Los Altos-Mountain View League of Women Voters and handles voter service for the league.
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