By John Myers @ LATimes.com, March 19

California may appear to Democrats as an electoral oasis, a sea of newly turned-blue political maps that could quench their thirst for control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Or the oasis could be nothing more than a mirage, disappearing in the haze of the state's unbridled primary election rules. In places where antipathy for President Trump is now sky-high, a poor showing by Democrats on election day would be stunning. "It's really through the looking glass, but Democrats could be shut out of these races," strategist Katie Merrill said.

For the third consecutive election cycle, state and congressional races on California's primary ballot will feature large pools of candidates no longer subdivided by partisan labels. Only the two contenders with the most votes in each race advance to a showdown in November, even those from the same party. The rest go home.

The top-two primary has maximized voter choice while minimizing the power of parties and interest groups to foresee the eventual outcome. Voters have the power — and sometimes the burden — of sorting through what can be lists filled with dozens of names.

"It's such a loose and open system that it can produce quirky results," said Eric McGhee, a researcher at the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California [.....}