Electing Our Next Governor

There were a total of 61 candidates for California governor on your June 2 primary election ballot. In addition, there were seven write-in candidates that you may or may not have heard about. How did you vote? Did you support a candidate you really liked because of the positions he or she took on issues? Was your vote influenced by whether or not your candidate had a chance of winning? Did you make your choice based on which candidate is the most popular in opinion polls? Do you rely on political advice from friends and neighbors? Or, are you influenced by the mountain of political literature that arrives in your mailbox and advertisements that flood all types of media?

In addition to the long list of candidates on your ballot, 10 candidates withdrew before the election. A few, because they withdrew so late, still appeared on your ballot. Betty Yee received the eighth most votes (201) in District 1 and the seventh most (405) in District 4. Eric Swalwell was voted for by 78 people in District 1 and 136 in District 4. Citywide, Yee received the seventh most votes (2,136) and Swalwell came in tenth (926).

For those of you who voted for a candidate who didn’t finish in the top two, I’ve listed below the top five. After the first five, the numbers of votes each candidate received are much lower.

Since 2012, California has used a top-two primary to determine which candidates move forward to the November election. It replaced partisan primaries in which registered voters with each political party selected their candidate for the November election.Proponents of top two elections said it would encourage candidates to reach out beyond their partisan base and allow more centrist candidates to be elected.

Opponents have argued that instead of voting for the most qualified candidate or the one most aligned with their political beliefs, it forces people to choose candidates based on which they think have the best chance of finishing in the top two.

Democratic voter registration in California is nearly double Republican registration. Yet, for a time this spring, there were concerns that the large number of Democratic Party candidates on the primary ballot would split the vote, and two Republicans would be the only choice for governor in November. This prospect is driving increasing interest in scrapping the top two primary. One proposal is to return to political party primaries. Another is to adopt a system that is similar to one used in Alaska in which the top four candidates move forward to the November election where ranked choice voting is used.

I favor adopting ranked-choice voting for primary and general elections for all state and federal offices. Voters should not have to worry about “wasting” their vote on a candidate who isn’t polling well. Having a second, third or fourth choice would mean candidates advancing to November elections more accurately represent the will of the voters. The two candidates who will appear on the November ballot for governor received only 28% and 24.6% of first place votes. What were the second, third or fourth choices of the 47.4% of voters who didn’t vote for either Becerra or Hilton? Counting those votes would most likely change who would be on the November ballot. Using ranked choice voting would more accurately represent the will of voters.

Check out fairvote.org for more information about ranked choice voting. Communities all across the country are adopting it.

Barry Hermanson is a member of the San Francisco Green Party County Council. Before he retired, he owned and operated a small business and was a leader in the small business community in San Francisco.