‘None of the Above’ Ballot Option. Initiative Statute.
	Argument Against Proposition 23

Arguments on this page are the opinions of the authors and have not been checked for accuracy by any official agency.

Ever feel like your vote didn't count very much? This initiative would just make things worse. It would give you the option of voting for None-of-the-Above (NOTA), but it's non-binding. What's the point?

Even if it were binding, NOTA is a poor substitute for true democracy. If you want to throw your vote away, DON'T VOTE. But if you do vote, you should be able to cast a meaningful vote for a candidate you like.

Polls show that most Californians are unhappy with the two major parties, and most Californians would like to see a credible third party. Unfortunately, this initiative would just draw votes away from candidates who are trying to provide credible alternatives to the major parties.

History has shown that new ideas and policy innovations--like the abolition of slavery and women's right to vote--often derive from third parties, so discouraging those candidates is a disservice to voters.

With our current winner-take-all voting system, if you are dissatisfied with the two major candidates, you are in a bind. You either settle for the "lesser of two evils," or you cast a protest vote for the candidate you prefer, knowing your candidate has little chance of winning. NOTA just gives you an even worse option: voting for something that can't win, even if it gets the most votes.

Fortunately, there are a couple of PROVEN SOLUTIONS to this very real problem with our voting system.

The first is called the Instant Runoff, and it allows you to rank a first choice, a second choice and a third choice. It solves the "spoiler" problem, because if your first choice candidate is defeated, your vote counts for your second choice. It also saves the cost of runoff elections, because it produces a majority winner in a single election. As an added bonus, the Instant Runoff promotes coalition building and positive, issue-oriented campaigning.

Because the Instant Runoff saves tax dollars and gives voters more choice, legislation for the Instant Runoff is pending in several California cities, and has been introduced at the state level in Alaska, New Mexico and Vermont.

The second is called Proportional Representation, which is the common sense notion that all Californians deserve representation, not just the biggest group in a town or election district. Proportional representation is like applying the free market to the political marketplace: it would give voters the multiplicity of choices that we demand as consumers. It's also a form of campaign finance reform. Candidates need a lower percentage of votes to win, so they can concentrate on promoting their issues and policies to their likely supporters instead of promising everything to everybody and standing for nothing.

To learn more about these reforms, visit the website of the non-partisan Center for Voting and Democracy: www.fairvote.org.

Unlike NOTA, these reforms will give voters real choices and more power. Vote NO on 23, and join the Green Party in working for real reforms that give all Californians a meaningful vote.

Sara Amir
Spokesperson, Green Party of California

John Strawn
Spokesperson, Green Party of California

Dona Spring
City Councilmember, Berkeley

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