Top Three expands choice. Head-to-head matchups make elections fairer by treating every voter and candidate equally.
California’s open primary was a step forward from partisan primaries. But in a state as large, diverse, and politically independent as ours, advancing only two candidates to November can leave voters with too little choice.
It’s time to level up California’s election system.
Top 3 keeps California’s all-voter primary and improves what happens next.
All voters participate in the primary. The top three candidates advance to the general election.
In the general election, voters express a preference in head-to-head matchups of the candidates.
Just like a round-robin tournament, the winning candidate is the candidate who defeats every other candidate head-to-head.
This ensures that the election winner is the candidate who best and most fairly reflects the voters’ choices.
WHY TOP 3 IS BETTER
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California voters are not one-size-fits-all. Millions of voters do not identify with either major party, and many voters care more about candidates’ positions, competence, and responsiveness than party labels alone.
But under Top Two, crowded primary fields can produce an artificially narrow November choice. Several candidates may have real support, but only two move on. That can squeeze out a broadly acceptable candidate and leave voters choosing between fewer options than California’s electorate deserves.
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Top 3 creates real competition so the parties and candidates have to listen to everyday people. It also makes it harder for party insiders, activists, or special interest groups to control who wins.
Every voter gets an equal say in the outcome. The election winner is the candidate who best and most fairly reflects the voters’ choices.
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With Top 3 candidates must work to earn every vote.
When elections aren’t competitive, people get divided and stop caring. With fair competition, we find common ground.
To win in Top 3 candidates need support from many different voters, not just their party’s base. That means less toxic politics and more problem-solving that appeals across groups.
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Under our current system, many people feel like they must vote for someone they don’t like in order to stop someone else from winning.
With Top 3, you can vote honestly for the candidates you like most AND still have a say on the ones you like least.
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In head-to-head matchups, no candidates are eliminated. Every head-to-head contest among candidates is worth as much as every other. This means a candidate with a small but loud group of supporters doesn’t win just because other voters split their support among several similar candidates that most people like better.
It also means voters can support a third-party candidate without worrying it will hurt the chances of their preferred major party candidate.
In current elections, the major party candidates are just competing against each other (if they’re competing at all). In Top 3, the major party candidates compete on a fair playing field against all of the other candidates on the ballot.
Winning in head-to-head matchups matters equally regardless of the candidates’ party affiliation.
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Top 3 does not use elimination rounds. Election officials can publish the results of each head-to-head matchup directly.
The public can see the comparisons, the margins, and the final result. That makes the system easier to explain, easier to audit, and easier to trust.
WHAT’S NEW
