Top-Two Primary: It’s About Accountability Stupid

image
Chad PeaceChad Peace
Published: 23 Jul, 2014
2 min read

In 2010, California became the second state to adopt a nonpartisan, “Top-Two” primary, where all candidates and voters participate on the same ballot.

 

 

There’s a common misconception about the purpose of the Top-Two primary that infects nearly every commentator, political scientist, and other so-called election expert: that Top-Two is intended to produce moderation.

Rarely do these folks ever consider that the purpose behind Top-Two might be more fundamental and less focused on a particular outcome: that representatives should be accountable to people instead of parties.

It is almost universally accepted and recognized that partisanship has infected our political discourse and reduced our electoral system to a game of Democrats v. Republicans. Pollsters and consultants work together to divide the electorate between superficial red and blue teams and take it as an axiom that everyone who doesn’t wear a particular jersey has one hiding in their closet.

As a consequence, the same folks that pontificate over our political permutations see the Top-Two primary through the glasses of this same partisan perspective. Therefore, their mode of measuring the merits of Top-Two matriculates toward assessing its moderating effect; where its “success” depends on bridging a gap between two “sides” of the electoral game played by Democrats and Republicans.

But what if representatives are supposed to represent people, and not parties?

What if a candidate didn’t have to first be rubber-stamped by a private political organization before they had the privilege of running in our public elections?

What if a bill could just be practical, and not merely Republican, Democrat, or “somewhere in the middle”?

IVP Donate

What if some voters are “left” of the Democrats on some issues, and “right” of the Republicans on others?

What if the right to vote derived from the right of every individual to participate equally, regardless of their ideology, race, gender, favorite pizza toppings, or willingness to join a political party?

And what if the Top-Two primary was about making sure representatives are accountable to their entire district, and not just their party, or the so-called “moderate middle”?

You Might Also Like

Ethan Penner
Could This Well-Funded Independent Upend the CA Governor’s Race?
Ethan Penner, a Calabasas businessman, author, and educator with a storied career in real estate finance, has officially announced his intention to run for California governor in 2026 as an independent. On his campaign website, Penner says he is running to “disrupt the failing two-party system.” ...
12 Sep, 2025
-
5 min read
Supreme Court of the United States
Forward Party Joins Petition to SCOTUS Against State of Florida
Right now, the divide between the Republican and Democratic Parties appears beyond repair. The political rhetoric is toxic, the nation’s leadership puts party gain before lasting solutions, and few voters actually feel heard by the people elected to represent them. At a time when it seems things will only get worse from here, the Independent Voter Project filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court along with Open Primaries and the Forward Party in support of a lawsuit that targets one of the biggest culprits behind all of this....
16 Sep, 2025
-
3 min read
congress flag
Poll: 82% of Americans Want Redistricting Done by Independent Commission, Not Politicians
There may be no greater indication that voters are not being listened to in the escalating redistricting war between the Republican and Democratic Parties than a new poll from NBC News that shows 8-in-10 Americans want the parties to stop....
10 Sep, 2025
-
3 min read