CA Supreme Court Rejects Appeal of Minor Political Parties

FRESNO, Calif. (KMJ) — The California Supreme Court is turning away an appeal from the Green and Libertarian parties, who claim they’re essentially excluded from general election ballots, due to the state’s top-two primary system.

California voters approved the new primary system back in 2010, meaning the top two candidates advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation.

It was touted as a means of combating polarization, and encouraging primary candidates to appeal to a wider pool of voters.

However, minor parties claim their candidates are almost never on the November ballot, when millions more vote than in the June primaries.

They allege that the new system violates their constitutional right of political association.