SAN DIEGO, CALIF. - The Independent Voter Project (IVP) is out to educate San Diegans on the need for charter reform. San Diego is one of the largest cities in California that uses the "50% plus one" rule to decide its local elections.
READ MORE: San Diego City Attorney Candidates Join IVP to Talk About the Right to Vote in the General Election
Charles Abdelnour, the former city clerk of San Diego for 28 years, who was in office in 1989 when the city changed from the district primary to the 50% plus one rule told IVP, “voters should have the opportunity to weigh in on candidates when the largest number of people are voting, and that occurs in a general election.” Abdelnour continued, “a primary is a primary, which signifies there is a secondary or general election. Key city races shouldn’t necessarily end in June.”
IVP filed a proposed amendment to the San Diego City Charter to remove the rule allowing a candidate to be elected if they receive over 50% of the vote in a primary. IVP is requesting this be placed by the City Council on the November general election ballot.
IVP’s core belief is that democracy works best when the most people participate. It’s on that core belief that IVP has led efforts nationwide to improve the democratic process and in doing so, realized it needn’t look further than its own backyard, the city of San Diego, for a democracy-destroying and establishment-protecting election law.
READ MORE: IVP Files to Remove 50% Plus 1 Primary Rule, Says All Voters Have Right to Vote in November
IVP Co-Chair Jeff Marston said, “How about we don’t wrap up our elections in June and instead have a more robust dialogue about the important issues facing our community when the most people are paying attention – in the November general election.”
IVP legal counsel Chad Peace will be at Golden Hall tonight to discuss the importance of voter reform.
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Editor's note: The post is a copy of a IVP news release that was sent out on June 7. The original release said that a majority of cities in California use a top-two system, which has not been sourced. The post has been corrected and updated on IVN.
Photo Credit: IVN.us