California Top-Four Primary Initiative (2018)

California Top-Four Primary Initiative
Election date November 6, 2018
Topic Elections and campaigns
Status Not on the ballot
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin Citizens
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The California Top-Four Primary Initiative (#17-0053) was not on the ballot in California as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 6, 2018.

The initiative was designed to replace California's top-two primary with a top-four primary system.

Under the top-two primary system, candidates from all parties are listed on the same primary ballot. The top two vote-getters, regardless of their partisan affiliation, advance to the general election.

Under a top-four primary system, candidates from all parties would continue to be listed on the same primary ballot. The top four vote-getters, regardless of their partisan affiliation, would advance to the general election.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The official ballot title was as follows:

"

Increases the Number of Candidates in General Elections for State and Congressional Offices. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.

”

Petition summary

The summary provided for inclusion on signature petition sheets was as follows:

"

Increases the number of candidates that advance from a primary election to a general election, from the top two candidates to the top four candidates, regardless of party affiliation. Applies to congressional, state legislative, and most statewide offices.

”

Fiscal impact

The fiscal impact statement was as follows:

"

Increased state and local elections costs potentially totaling in the millions of dollars for every two-year election cycle.

”

Full text

The full text of the measure is as available here.

Path to the ballot

See also: California signature requirements and Laws governing the initiative process in California

In California, the number of signatures needed to qualify a measure for the ballot is based on the total number of votes cast for the office of governor. For an initiated constitutional amendment, petitioners must collect signatures equal to 8 percent of the most recent gubernatorial vote. To get a measure on the 2018 ballot, the number of signatures required was 585,407. In California, initiatives can be circulated for 180 days. Signatures needed to be certified at least 131 days before the 2018 general election, which was around June 28, 2018. As the signature verification process can take several weeks, the California secretary of state issues suggested deadlines for several months before the certification deadline.

The timeline for the initiative is as follows:

• Richard Ginnaty submitted a letter requesting a title and summary on December 11, 2017.
• A title and summary were issued by the California attorney general's office on February 14, 2018.
• Proponents of the initiative needed to submit 585,407 valid signatures by August 13, 2018.

See also

• 2018 ballot measures
• California 2018 ballot propositions
• California ballot measures
• Top-two primary

External links

• Initiative Petition #17-0053