Getty Images/Justin Sullivan

A California voter

Voters registered their disgust with the state’s political parties Tuesday by passing Proposition 14, changing how future elections in California will be run.

In future primaries, voters will be allowed to cross party lines to select a candidate. In general elections, a maximum of two candidates will appear on the ballot in each race, and could even come from the same party. There will be no write-in candidates in the general election. 

With the political process wracked by partisanship, supporters successfully argued that the proposition would lead to less rancorous campaigns and would allow moderate candidates to gain a political foothold. But based on the experience of other states that have tried similar systems, including Washington and Louisiana, some political scientists are skeptical that the so-called reform will bring about much significant change.

“The voters really hate parties right now, so anything that takes parties out of the mix resonates with voters,” said John Matsusaka, president of the Initiative and Referendum Institute at the University of Southern California.

In a statement, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said: "This sends a clear message that Californians are tired of partisan gridlock and dysfunction and want a system where representatives put what's best for California ahead of extreme partisan doctrine." 

But Matsusaka cautioned that the victory may be mostly symbolic.  

"There will be a lot said about a new political way of doing things, which I’m afraid to say, based on past practice, will not come to very much,” he said.

For instance, the California Republican Party now plans to hold a convention where the party will choose one candidate to back in the primary. “The old guys in smoky back rooms – they would pick their candidate,” said Matsusaka. “All of a sudden, now the voters have no participation in the choice of these candidate.” Although other contenders identifying themselves as Republican could run in a primary, the party will throw its money and support behind its chosen candidate.

After this season of lavish campaign spending, voters may be surprised to learn that this reform could actually make some campaigns even more expensive, according to critics. “Normally, you don’t have to spend as much in the primary as in the general election. The cost of running is going to increase,” said Mark Standriff, communications director for the California Republican Party, which opposed the initiative, as did all five other parties in the state.

Candidates in primaries will have to send their mailers to all voters, not just those in their party, which will be expensive. And in the cases where members of the same party compete in the general election, they’ll likely have to spend more to distinguish themselves. 

The initiative will likely face legal challenges from opponents, such as smaller parties that may be squeezed out by the new system.

But political observers said the proposition was a protest vote against the state’s political divisions.

“It’s a sign of voters wanting to shake loose the dysfunction and gridlock of Sacramento,” said Molly Milligan, a senior fellow with the Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles.