Prop 14 - Unfortunate Outcome

The worst result of yesterday's primary was the passage of Proposition 14. Washington state passed a similar law in 2008, and ended up with zero minor party candidates in November 2008. Further, the law, denies political parties the right to organize themselves as they see fit. In my opinion, this violates the freedom of association that political parties should have to nominate their own candidates, as they are specifically prohibited from nominating candidates. Over at Temple of Mut, Mutjodnet had this to say in recommending a No vote:

14 – NO: Passage of this proposition will lead to a system that tampers with the will of people registered and involved with a specific party while hindering the ability for third party candidates to compete. Furthermore, additional elements of the proposition will prohibit write-in candidates in the general election and allow candidates to conceal their party affiliation from the voter (undermining the transparency needed in a healthy democracy).

No write in candidates either? I am sorry I missed that, Quixotic though it may be, it also seems un-American to prohibit write-ins. Unfortunately, I am not sure what constitutional remedies are available. At the Election Law Blog there is an excellent explanation on the likely failure of a court challenge.

Possibly, the minor parties will have to get together with the major parties to mount a repeal effort down the road. The six parties held a joint press coverage on May 11 in Sacramento to express their mutual opposition to Proposition 14. In the mean time, I think the lack of third party challenges or write-ins in the November election will have the effect of relieving candidates from considering issues important to smaller groups of voters.