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TESTIMONY
Testimony by Professor Seth Masket from the University of Denver on the effects of top-two primary systems
2:00:21
·
3 min
Professor Seth Masket from the University of Denver discusses research on all-party top-two election systems, focusing on their purported benefits of reducing polarization and increasing primary turnout.
He notes that in California, after enacting a top-two system in 2012, primary turnout did not significantly increase long-term, and while polarization in the legislature declined slightly where two same-party candidates faced off, other states saw little effect.
Regarding Alaska's top-four system, he mentions the election of a Democrat to Congress in a Republican-leaning state, attributing it largely to Republican vote-splitting.
- Masket suggests that generally, such reforms don't significantly change the types of people who participate in primaries, as those motivated to vote often register with a party if needed.
Seth Masket
2:00:21
Okay, great.
2:00:23
Thank you very much for your time today.
2:00:25
My name is Seth Maskett.
2:00:26
I'm a professor of political science at the University of Denver.
2:00:30
I don't live in New York City, but I was born there.
2:00:32
My son is a resident.
2:00:34
I wish to speak on the topic of the all party top two election system reform that's being proposed.
2:00:41
Several states have experimented with this and similar reforms in recent years, and several speakers have mentioned this tonight.
2:00:48
I wanted to weigh in with a few comments.
2:00:51
Typically, proponents of such a top two system offer two significant benefits.
2:00:57
One is that it would reduce polarization, allowing the election of more moderate candidates.
2:01:02
The second is that it would increase voter turnout in primaries.
2:01:08
One of the best the highest profile examples we have of this is the top two election system in California, which was enacted in 2012.
2:01:16
Two important things happened after that.
2:01:19
First of all, in 2014, turnout in primaries actually dropped.
2:01:24
Although the next primary, you know, after that, it's sort of evened out.
2:01:28
It wasn't a large drop, but it didn't seem to change it very much in the long run, and it did not go up.
2:01:34
Second, polarization did actually ebb somewhat over the next decade, and this is something the previous witness Richard Barton mentioned.
2:01:44
Polarization actually declined a bit, largely where there were two candidates in the same party going to the runoff election together.
2:01:51
In those cases, the more moderate candidate tended to win.
2:01:54
This has slightly reduced polarization in the California legislature.
2:01:58
We've seen other states attempt similar sorts of reforms, so they're generally without much detectable effect, either on turnout or polarization.
2:02:07
Washington State enacted such a reform in 02/2008, didn't seem to change very much.
2:02:12
Alaska has a similar style top four system with ranked choice voting that they've used since 2022.
2:02:20
One
Valerie De La Rosa
2:02:21
of
Seth Masket
2:02:21
the interesting outcomes of that was that the state elected a Democrat to Congress, Mary Peltola, in what is usually a very Republican leaning state, that was largely the result of Republicans failing to coordinate prior to the first election, and the Republicans ended up splitting their vote.
2:02:38
Now, turnout question is an interesting one.
2:02:41
In New York and many other places with partisan primaries, people not registered in a political party can't vote in its primary elections.
2:02:49
This is something Doctor.
2:02:50
Gabori mentioned earlier this evening, you know, that people who are not members of the party generally can't participate in his decisions, although there are a number of groups that advocate for such reforms to allow non party members to participate.
2:03:04
If anyone can vote in a primary regardless of their own party membership, then theoretically that increases the number of people who can participate.
2:03:12
Yet it turns out that for the most part, people who wanna participate in the primary already do, either by registering what sometimes just by registering with the party beforehand.
2:03:21
In states with closed systems, we often see voters registering with the party to join primaries.
2:03:27
If it's a state where independents can participate in the primaries, they often remain independents.
2:03:32
Overall, it generally doesn't change the sort of people who actually show up for the primary.
2:03:37
Thank you for your time.
2:03:38
I'd hope
Richard R. Buery Jr.
2:03:38
you Thank so much.
Seth Masket
2:03:39
Happy to answer questions.
2:03:40
Thank you.
Richard R. Buery Jr.
2:03:40
Thank you.