(SAN DIEGO) - On Tuesday, June 5th, Californians will be heading to the polls to vote in this year's primary election, and this year, it's a real jungle out there! Political analyst Laura Fink explains why this year's June primary is called a 'jungle primary.'
A jungle primary, a wild-west primary, or a nonpartisan blanket primary as it's more formally known, puts all candidates together in one big primary. So no matter what party they belong to, the top two candidates will advance to the November election.
So instead of Democrats choosing a candidate and Republicans choosing another, all the candidates are scrambled together, with the top two heading to the general election in November.
The idea behind this sort of primary is to offer an even playing field to more moderate candidates or candidates running as independents.
June primaries historically have low voter turnout, but for this year's races, it's especially important to get yourself to the polls and vote. Races range from choosing local representation, such as your sheriff and district attorney, to our congressional candidates, as well as who will ultimately be in the run for governor in November.
Thanks to the not-always-so-popular jungle primary, that means it could end up being two Republicans or two Democrats in the final governor's race this fall.