Proposition 60


My take on Proposition 60 - Yes

This is part of my ongoing series of posts on each of the Propositions we'll be voting on. Here is the original post, with my ground rules for evaluating propositions, my scorecard and links to each of my arguments.

Proposition 60 - Yes

Prop 60 is a sort of the anti-prop of Prop 62. Prop 60 guarantees that a party that runs a candidate in the primary is guaranteed a spot on the actual election ballot. It also prohibits denying a candidate who won the primary a party's nomination. For instance, if I run in the primary for governor as a Libertarian and win (beating out the other Libertarian nominees), Prop 60 would mandate that the Libertarian party gets to run some candidate in the election for Governor. Furthermore, it also means that the Libertarian party could not replace me with another candidate, as long as I haven't stepped down - which makes sense, I won the primary after all.

There is pretty much no argument against this one. It simply says that primaries should be run the way they are intended and that there is no way to force a smaller political party off the ballot. Even the published rebuttal plainly states, "Proposition 60 does no harm, but voters deserve more." It seems to me that if it does some good, and doesn't do any harm, then its worth a yes vote.

Bottom line: Prop 60 means protection for smaller third parties, who play an important role in criticizing the major parties, and can actually be viable in some local elections. It also guarantees that primaries are run the way they are supposed to.

Posted: Sun - October 31, 2004 at 06:08 PM | | | | | | |

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