Oregon voters on Tuesday rejected a big change to the state’s primary election system. They voted down Measure 90, a proposal to scrap Oregon’s current primary-election system in favor of a “top-two” format. Currently, only Democrats vote in the Democratic primary, and only Republicans vote in the Republican primary. In a top-two system, all primary candidates are on single ballot, and all registered voters can participate. The top two vote-getters then advance to the general election, even if they are from the same party.
Oregonians trounced a similar idea in 2008. Supporters raised more money this time around, with Houston billionaire John Arnold and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg each contributing more than $1 million.
Neighboring California and Washington both use the top-two system.