Criticism
Critics of the nonpartisan blanket primary object to calling it an open primary, and one judge in California even barred proponents from using the term in their advertisements. Additionally, critics also note the strong possibility of two candidates from the same party advancing to the second round; this becomes increasingly likely when one party runs drastically fewer candidates than another and thus faces less vote-splitting. Under the nonpartisan blanket primary, a party with two candidates and only 41% popular support would beat a party with three candidates and 59% popular support if voters split their votes evenly amongst candidates for their own party. The results of one study comparing the results in Washington state between the 2004 (closed) and 2008 (top two) primaries, indicate that the top two primary reduced the likelihood of running against a same party candidate and it reduced the likelihood that a strong incumbent would face a challenger from his or her own party.
The nonpartisan aspect means that political parties cannot control which candidates are allowed to use the party name. Partisan primaries allow for one candidate from each party to advance to the general election; no other candidate may use the party name in their campaign.
Political Science Professor Todd Donovan published an article in 2012 for the California Journal of Politics & Policy, called “The Top Two Primary: What Can California Learn from Washington?” Donovan was the only Expert Witness in favor of the top-two idea, for the as applied court challenge of Top-Two. His academic paper states, “The partisan structure of Washington’s legislature appears unaltered by the new primary system.” Donovan concluded, “The aggregate of all this did not add up to a legislature that looked different or functioned differently from the legislature elected under a partisan primary."
In Washington State, major parties have resorted to an alternate process of party nomination for partisan legislative and county administrative positions. This ensures that one official party candidate will be in the primary, theoretically reducing the risk of intra-party vote splits. However, the law does not allow nominations or endorsements by interest groups, political action committees, political parties, labor unions, editorial boards, or other private organizations to be printed on the ballot.
The indication of party "preference" as opposed to party affiliation opens the door for candidates to misrepresent their leanings or otherwise confuse voters. In 2008, a Washington gubernatorial candidate indicated party preference as "G.O.P." instead of Republican. A public poll found that 25% of the public did not know that the two terms mean the same thing.
Read more about this topic: Nonpartisan Blanket Primary
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