Yes on Proposition 3

When voters find Proposition 3 on Nov. 3 ballots, they may wonder why the Legislature is proposing a change in the open primary law adopted by voters just two years ago. Proposition 3 seems a step backward, reverting to a “closed” ballot in the presidential primary beginning in 2000. Only Republicans would vote in the GOP presidential primary, Democrats in the Democratic primary and so on.

The new open primary law, which The Times has supported, allows Californians to cast ballots for a member of any party for each elected office. But the initiative’s authors apparently overlooked the fact that a presidential primary is essentially an intraparty affair and not an election as such.

Courts have held that the parties have the right to allow only their members choose their candidates. In a presidential primary, the voter does not technically cast a ballot directly for a candidate, but to allocate the state’s national convention candidates. Under Proposition 3, voters will still be able to cast ballots for any candidate for all state offices.