Politics

Question of the Week: Jungle primaries

Also known as open primaries, they allow the top two candidates to advance to the general election, whatever their party. It’s our newsletter Question of the Week for June 4.

Voting booths in Eagle Point
FILE–Voting booths are set up in the town hall in the Chippewa County town of Eagle Point. (Photo by Pat Kreitlow)

Chances are you heard about this week’s primary election in California for governor and you might have caught the phrase “jungle primary.” It’s one of several ways supporters claim would give voters more power over who wins elections.

In an open primary, party labels don’t matter: no matter who the candidates are, the top two finishers in the primary move on to the general election, even if they’re both Democrats or Republicans. 

Another proposed reform is ranked choice voting, where voters rank the candidates on their ballot. The last place candidate is kicked off after the first round of counting and their supporters’ second choice candidates gets their votes — and you keep going until there are only two candidates and one wins by being ranked highly by a majority of voters.

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