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A top two jungle, not an open primary

It's important that Oregonians know that Phil Keisling's Measure 65 is NOT an Open Primary.

The media should use correct terms

The media and the public should refrain from calling Measure 65 an "Open Primary", and instead they should call it a "Jungle" or "Top Two" System. An Open Primary is when each party still has their own primary ballot and the voters simply choose which party's ballot they cast on the day of the election. Measure 65 is closer to a "Blanket Primary", where everybody votes for one candidate regardless of party and the top vote-getter advances to the general election from each party (that is, officially recognized party). Blanket Primaries were struck down by the Supreme Court, so Washington State went from a Blanket Primary to a "Jungle System", or "Louisiana System", after the only state where it was used, but not before they actually used a real "Open Primary" for the 2004 election cycle.

Incorrect terminology misleads the public

Open Primary is a known definition in political science, also called a "Montana-style" Primary. It's not even just a misnomer to apply it to Measure 65, but a misleading attempt to frame the debate. Open Primaries have advantages and disadvantages that are very different from a Jungle System. The proponents know this but are lying to the public about it because they want to call it an "Open" process, which itself is misleading because it greatly damages the ability of third parties to participate in elections, effectively encoding the two party system into the election system even more than we have today (under simple plurality voting).

Correctness is relevant to Washington's history

It's odd that in Oregon, the proponents of the Jungle System would call it an "Open Primary", because Washington State used to have a real Open Primary (2004 election), again, Montana-style, until an initiative changed the system to the "Top Two" Jungle, Louisiana-style, system.

The fairest name for measure 65 is "top two"

To prevent confusion, the media should keep to consistent definitions so people can honestly compare the systems other states have used. Calling Measure 65 something it simply is not just simply false, it's an injustice to the public's ability to understand the dramatic changes that would be implied by the measure. Measure 65 is a Jungle, Louisiana, or "Top Two" System, not an Open Primary, nor a Blanket Primary, two different systems. Since Keisling would likely oppose the use of the names "Jungle" or "Louisiana", the more neutral name, "Top Two" should be used.

"Top two" system legal ramifications

Some would even say that "Top Two" Systems are not even technically "primary" elections, a term normally reserved for the processes used for parties to select their own candidates, since parties would be unable to select their own candidates except at their own conventions (really, by endorsement, rather than nomination). By eliminating party primaries, Measure 65 may be considered to be a violation of the freedom of parties to associate by selecting their own candidates, under federal election law preventing state parties from supporting their own federal candidates. Third parties have most of their resources at the state party level and below, more unfairness against small parties.