Proposition 62 was aCalifornia ballot proposition on the November 2, 2004 ballot. It failed to pass with 5,119,155 (46.1%) votes in favor and 5,968,770 (53.9%) against.
Officially known as theVoter Choice Open Primary Act, the proposition was aninitiativeconstitutional amendment andstatute that provided for a modifiedblanket primary (two-round) election system like that used in the state ofLouisiana.
Under the provisions of the proposition, instead of traditional partisanprimary elections for statewide offices (in which voters have to beregistered with apolitical party to choose the nominee of that party in the primary), all candidates for election would appear on the primary election ballot (first round ballot), and all voters could vote for any candidate regardless of the party affiliation of the voter or candidates. The two candidates with the most votes (regardless of party or lack thereof) would later appear on the general election (second round) ballot.
Prop 62 would have affected elections to allstatewide elected officers (Governor,Lieutenant Governor,Attorney General,Insurance Commissioner,Controller,Secretary of State, andTreasurer), for theCalifornia State Legislature, and for federalcongressional elections (to both theU.S. House of Representatives and theU.S. Senate. The proposition did exemptpresidential primary elections and elections of party central committees.
The provisions of Proposition 62 conflicted with those ofProposition 60, which theCalifornia State Legislaturereferred on the ballot. That proposition essentially re-affirmed the existing partisan primary system. TheCalifornia Constitution provides that if the provisions of two approved propositions are in conflict, only the provisions of the measure with the higher number of "yes" votes at the statewide election take effect. Since Prop 60 passed and Prop 62 did not, the issue was moot.
Summary of Legislative Analyst's Estimate of Net State and Local Government Fiscal Impact:
List of California ballot propositions 2000-present
