Rules of the game

If you’ve looked at your sample ballot and wondered why 24 people are running against each other for U.S. senator, you can blame it on California’s new, “open” primary election.

Yep, it’s confusing. But you asked for it.

Before now, primary voters for state and congressional offices selected among only the candidates running in their own parties. Republicans chose among Republicans, Democrats among Democrats, Libertarians among Libertarians, and so on. The winners faced off in the November general election.

In 2010, however, California voters approved Proposition 14, which requires all state and congressional candidates, regardless of party, to run against each other in the primary; the two top vote-getters advance to the November ballot. That’s why voters will be choosing from among 24 people competing for the Senate. Somewhere buried in that list is a name they will recognize: that of the current senator, Democrat Dianne Feinstein.

The same is true of the races for State Assembly and the House of Representatives. It is not the case in the presidential primary, however: Democrats will vote for Democrats (well, one Democrat, Barack Obama), Republicans for Republicans (Mitt Romney et al.), and so on.

In addition to adopting an open primary, California has recently gone through redistricting. Voters should be aware that, as a result, the shape and in many cases the numerical designations of California’s Assembly, Senate and congressional districts have changed this year.

Most voters in the CN&R’s readership area will be casting ballots in the reconfigured Assembly District 3, but a significant number in eastern Butte County, including Oroville, will be voting in the new District 1. Similarly, most voters in our area are in Congressional District 1, which is a reconfiguration of retiring Rep. Wally Herger’s district. Voters in Orland and western Glenn County, however, are in Congressional District 3.

The open primary is a revolution in the rules of the game, and nobody quite knows how it’s going to turn out. Even experienced political insiders say they haven’t a clue. As Democratic strategist Garry South told The Sacramento Bee, “Any consultant on either side of the aisle who tells you they’ve got this figured out is [fooling] you. None of us have it figured out.”

But will the voters figure it out? And will they then turn out to vote on June 5 or send in their MIBs (mail-in ballots)? With the presidential contest now set, what’s the incentive? Measure A, the medical-marijuana referendum in Butte County, may pull in some voters, and the bruising battle between Sam Aanestad and Doug LaMalfa to replace Herger has certainly been entertaining. But who knows?

In the meantime, here are our takes on the local congressional and state elections, the two propositions on the ballot, and Measure A. Our space is limited, so these are at best cursory analyses. We encourage all voters to do their own research before casting their ballots.