Democracy is enhanced by giving voters a real opportunity to vote for and elect representatives who reflect their views. Top Two elections take us further away from that goal.

To address California’s democracy deficit, Top Two elections should be repealed — and replaced by elections by proportional representation, giving broader and deeper representation for Californians.

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Top Two restricts voter choice by allowing only two candidates on the General Election ballot – sometimes representing only a narrow range of views – while driving smaller parties off the ballot, and eliminating General Election write-in voting.  In Primary Elections, Top Two increases ‘vote-splitting’, often leading to random and sometimes unrepresentative results – and makes primary elections more expensive, increasing the role of big money in politics.

• Instead of restrictive Top Two elections, I support a full range of parties and independents on the general ballot that reflect the diversity of political viewpoints within California — and an electoral system that allows them all to run candidates and win seats in proportion to their percentage of the popular vote.

• I support the Green Party’s call for the State Legislature to convene a public inquiry process, that would include public hearings around the state, to review California’s top two experiment and alternatives to it — including proportional representation from multi-seat districts for the state legislature and ranked choice voting for single-seat, statewide office.

• I support the lawsuit to overturn Top Two elections, brought forward by the Green Party, Libertarian Party, and Peace & Freedom Party. If the lawsuit is successful, California will be better prepared to replace Top Two by examining alternatives to it now.

Top Two was the wrong response to the real lack of representation that comes from California’s use of single-seat, winner-take-all districts to elect its representatives. Being just another version of winner-take-all elections, Top Two’s narrow passage in 2010 was a major lost opportunity for needed real reform.  But its not too late to learn from the failed top two experiment – and plan for needed reform now.

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My writings, videos and interviews on top two

Why jungle primaries – i.e. top two/top four/top five/top ‘x’ – are bad for democracy. Text and Video. By Mike Feinstein, Green Pages, newspaper of the Green Party of the United States/Electoral Reforms for an Inclusive Multi-Party Democracy panel, Annual National Meeting of the Green Party of the United States. August 2024.

Why California Should Learn from Maine and Not Alaska on Electoral Reform. By Michael Feinstein. Independent Voter Network. December 28, 2020

Garcia vs. Smith III: Cause for Reform. By Michael Feinstein. The Signal – Santa Clara Valley (CA). December 24, 2020

Chad Mayes’ exit from the GOP and the need for electoral reform. By Michael Feinstein. Orange County Register, Riverside Press-Enterprise (CA). January 8, 2020

Despite Close Congressional Races, California Must Change its Election System. By Mike Feinstein. Fox and Hounds Daily (CA).  Monday, November 5th, 2018

Opinion: Top-two voting is undemocratic, but Californians say they support it. They should give other systems a try. By Michael Feinstein. Los Angeles Times (CA). May 25, 2018

Opinion:  Will voters in state Senate District 29 recall representative democracy? By Michael Feinstein. Orange County Register (CA). May 19, 2018

Top Two Malfunctions, Democracy Suffers. By Mike Feinstein. Fox and Hounds Daily (CA).  May 18th, 2018

The Prop. 14 bait-and-switch. By Michael Feinstein. Los Angeles Times (CA). June 5, 2010

Prop 14 is Bad for Smaller Parties, Bad for Democracy Overall. By Mike Feinstein. Fox and Hounds Daily (CA). May 27, 2010

Opinion: Prop. 14 would weaken democracy voter choice.  By Michael Feinstein. San Jose Mercury News (CA). May 12, 2010

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Last updated May 7, 2025