The Progressives in California enacted several social and political reforms as they gained power. One of these
reforms was creating non-partisan elections for local offices. This means that when candidates run for these
local offices, they are not allowed to have partisan labels (like Democrat or Republican) next to their names on
the ballot. The absence of party labels, however, leaves voters a bit confused. For some voters, knowing a
candidate’s party affiliation is all they need to know to make a decision. Others might take time to research
where a candidate stands in terms of partisanship. Arguably, however, most people will not. Instead, they might
vote for a candidate based on name recognition, occupation, perceived ethnicity, or anything else that might
give them clues as to who might best represent them.
Additionally, even though local candidates are not able to have their partisan identity on the ballot, these
candidates are still able to campaign as partisan as they please by creating social media advertisements,
mailers, and commercials as “republicans” or “democrats” “green party candidates” etc., running for city
council, boards of supervisors, mayor or any other local office. This has led many to call these nonpartisan
races, “non-partisan in name only”.
On the other hand, others defend non-partisan local elections arguing that the system allows candidates to
define themselves as individuals, responding to local issues, rather than a large party platform. Candidates
might pitch themselves as “above” or “beyond” party politics that typically dominate presidential and statewide
elections. Arguably, independents and third-party candidates have a better shot of beating traditional
candidates from the 2 major parties.
Take a position: Should we keep local elections nonpartisan? Or should we allow candidates running for local
elections to use partisan labels on the ballot? Why or why not? Keep in mind the progressive’s original
intentions with this reform, and whether or not that is relevant to today’s political parties. Should party politics
matter at the local level? Why or why not? Another question you might consider is how this type of election
might affect the way a candidate campaigns for office.

 

 

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