How to Vote in the Primary

Hi, voters!

I see you. You’re holding your mail-in ballot, staring at the sixty-one candidates for Governor, wondering what to do. If you choose wrong, your party might place no candidate in the Top Two, losing the Governor’s Mansion before the November campaign has even begun. How on earth can you prevent that?

I’m here to help. Follow this simple strategy. It works for both major parties.

First, you may have found a candidate to fall in love with, one who shares your views on virtually every issue, and whose personality makes you swoon. But, unless they’re at the top of the polls, you must let go of that dreamboat. In this election, only the top two vote-getters will advance. And they will be chosen by voters who vote for the major contenders. To guarantee a spot for your party in November, you must vote for your party’s frontrunner.

But how do you know who that frontrunner is? The leader seems to change every day.

Here’s the key: Wait until late May to complete your ballot. By then, a clear frontrunner will have emerged. Vote for that poll-leading candidate. Do not quibble about exactly who it is. Remember: You are fighting to ensure your party has anyone on the November ballot.

Pro tip: Fill out the rest of your ballot well in advance. Then, when Memorial Day arrives, you can simply check the latest polls to identify the frontrunner, locate that candidate amid the ocean of names, mark the right oval, and send your ballot on its merry way.

As someone who recommended establishing Top Two primaries in 2010, I apologize to you for helping create this awkward mess. At the time, I predicted this might happen, and hoped we’d overcome it.

“Perhaps most critically, under Prop 14 a multi-candidate free-for-all could result in two top finishers who have just a small slice of the vote. For example, a 12-way gubernatorial primary could produce nominees with just 10% each, from any or no party. Will the major parties have the discipline and clout to force “noise” candidates to drop out, assuring the party at least one slot? Or will the contests degenerate into chaos? The nonpartisan 2003 recall election might give us a hint: Even though there were over 100 candidates, 80% of voters voted for one of the top two, and no one has disputed the legitimacy of the winner.“

Obviously, this year the major parties have failed to exert any control, so it’s up to us voters to exercise the required discipline and coalesce around a candidate who can win. If we are all patient, that candidate’s identity will become clear soon enough.

Happy voting,
Pete Stahl

p.s.: In 2020, I stopped using Facebook to promote this site. I cannot reconcile my commitment to level-headed, factual analysis with Facebook’s corrosive behavior in politics. Facebook traps users in polarized bubbles, pushes discourse to the extremes, distributes misinformation and propaganda, and enables foreign interference in U.S. elections. I cannot, in good conscience, participate on a platform that behaves so destructively and irresponsibly.