Unite America Statement on Open Primary Repeal Effort in California

Citing the small possibility that two Republicans could advance to the general election in the California governor’s race, a Democratic consultant filed a repeal initiative Friday with state elections officials.

Since California voters approved top-two primaries in 2010, Democratic insiders and party leaders have used fears of party “lockouts” as a rationale for repeal over several election cycles. Those previous efforts never formally materialized.

Unite America Executive Director Nick Troiano issued the following statement in response:

“What a handful of party insiders are doing in California is no different from what their counterparts are doing in Alaska and Louisiana: fighting tooth and nail to exclude voters from taxpayer-funded primaries and protect their own power."

“This is part of a familiar pattern. Everywhere open primaries are enacted or proposed, some in the dominant party oppose it because they see it as a threat to their monopoly. But the question shouldn’t be which system is best for the parties — it should be what’s best for the voters they seek to represent."

“California’s top-two primary gives every voter, including millions of independent voters, the freedom to vote for any candidate, regardless of party. Since 2012, it has delivered more competitive elections, stronger representation, and better outcomes. Unite America will continue fighting for better elections that put voters first.”

Relevant research and context

‍As you continue to cover this race and California’s top-two system, here’s some background research and context that might be useful:

• Report: Top-two primaries have delivered measurable improvements in California. Higher turnout, more competition, and more meaningful participation compared to party primaries.
• Press memo: The impact of top-two primaries. A summary of research on California and Washington’s election systems.
• “Lockout” scenarios are extremely rare. Across an estimated 2,300+ elections in California and Washington under top-two elections, there have been just three documented examples of the dominant party being locked out of the general election. That’s a 0.13% lockout rate.
• ‍Unrepresentative outcomes are routine in party primaries. In 2024 alone, 21 dominant party primaries for safe seats were won with far less than majority support — in four cases, the winning candidate got less than 30% and went on to win an uncompetitive general election.

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Unite America is a philanthropic venture fund that invests in nonpartisan election reform to foster a more representative and functional government.

For More Information: Ross Sherman, Unite America Press Director, ross@uniteamerica.org, 207-749-2660

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