"Top Two" System Is The Opposite Of Reform

Here is my response to a recent editorial by the Bakersfield Californian newspaper:

This "top two" system is the opposite of reform. The top-two system does nothing to fix the problem of vote-splitting (i.e., the "spoiler effect"). For example, if too many Republicans run for an office, they risk splitting the vote between themselves and causing a Democrat to win, EVEN IF THE DISTRICT IS OVERWHELMINGLY REPUBLICAN. (And vice-versa for democrats.) How is that fair? Yet it is entirely possible under this new system. TRUE REFORM would eliminate the spoiler effect, the way Ireland and Australia have done by using a ranked ballot. --Ryan Dunning, San Joaquin Valley Coordinator for Californians for Electoral Reform.