A court challenge to California’s “top two” primaries was announced today. Candidates and voters who belong to the Green, Libertarian and Peace and Freedom political parties are challenging last year’s initiative that created a new election system in which the top two vote-getters advance to a general election – regardless of party affiliation.  Gary Bryant is the Vice Chairman of the Libertarian Party in Nevada County and says the new system puts them at a disadvantage because it favors the Republican and Democrat Parties.  
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The problem that a lot of them have with us is that we take away votes from them. So it just maintains the two party monopoly. I feel like voting is free speech and we are a country of equal opportunity and equal access and if we don’t have one percent of all registered voters by 2014, we’re off all ballots.”
 
Bryant says the write-in candidate is also eliminated from the November ballot.   Proposition 14 was legislatively referred to voters by the State Legislature in the June 2010 state elections.  It was approved by 54% of the voters.