you can blame arnold schwarzenegger and abel maldonado, two of the biggest traitors in the history of the californian republican party, for the tragic state of california today, because these two fake republicans helped create california's current jungle primary system. > prior to 2012, california had a closed primary system in which registered voters of the two major parties separately chose their parties candidates to face each other in the general election. > critics said the system had a polarizing effect because candidates won their nominations by appealing to activist elements which tended to be very liberal in the democratic party and very conservative in the republican party. the rising numbers of independent voters, registered in neither party, were discouraged from participating in primary elections, which affected the outcomes of other issues, such as ballot measures. > in a top-two system, labeled a jungle primary by its opponents, all candidates for an office are listed on the same ballot and the two top finishers, regardless of party, then duel in the november general election. > it came about because in 2009, democratic leaders of the state senate desperately needed one more vote to pass a controversial budget and turned to moderate republican sen. abel maldonado to provide it. however, maldonado  with the support of then-gov. arnold schwarzenegger  insisted that his vote hinged on placing the top-two primary before voters. > democrats eventually agreed and proposition 14, creating the top-two system, appeared on the june 2010 primary ballot with maldonado and schwarzenegger contending that it would give moderates and pragmatists in both parties better chances of winning legislative and congressional seats. the leaders of every political party opposed the measure but voters passed it handily.   california_proposition_14
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