It's been less than five years since voters approved two critical reforms to California's electoral system. Yet, because of these reforms, we are already seeing significant changes to the state's political landscape - and the changes are positive ones.

In 2010, Californians approved a top-two, open primary system. This reform allows you to vote for anyone you want in a primary election, regardless of your, or the candidate's, party affiliation. The top two candidates then face off in November.

Meanwhile, voters also created the new, nonpartisan California Citizens Redistricting Commission to draw legislative district lines. This reform wisely took the power away from incumbents and the political parties and gave it back to the people. No longer would entrenched politicians be able to create "safe" districts that discourage meaningful competition.

It was among my greatest honors as governor to work with good-government advocates such as Common Cause, the League of Women Voters and others to reform the redistricting process.

Like most states, California's redistricting process was not serving the people, as district lines were gerrymandered and party insiders were re-elected in the districts they themselves drew.

Many of us believed, and voters agreed, that the two reforms in combination would put California on a path toward breaking up gridlock and hyper-partisanship, and making government work better for our citizens.

We were basing our efforts on common sense and a commitment to putting people over politics. And now, the early results are starting to come in, and they show that these reforms are working.

In 2012, the top-two primary yielded 28 elections that, for the first time, pitted members of the same party against one another. Also, legislative districts that previously had been gerrymandered to protect politicians were no longer "safe" for one party or the other.

We began to see "outsider" and more moderate candidates come forward in districts all over the state, such as Marc Levine (San Rafael) and Richard Bloom (Santa Monica). Both were able to prevail over their party-anointed rivals.

This year's races could shake things up even more, as candidates for office are forced to appeal to all voters, not just the party bosses.

Even in districts with lopsided party affiliation - heavily Democratic or Republican - we're seeing candidates who have learned to build coalitions with voters of all political stripes.

And now a new study, to be released Monday by the University of Southern California Schwarzenegger Institute, shows that the trend is having a real impact on state politics.

The study suggests that electoral reforms have started to shift the California Legislature toward the center. Even as one party, the Democratic, has become dominant statewide, the Legislature is becoming more pragmatic and less polarized.

An analysis of roll-call votes shows that the California Assembly has become 15 percent less polarized since electoral reforms went into effect, using accepted political science measures. The Senate has seen a 10 percent shift.

It will come as no surprise that, in the same few years, polarization has only gotten worse in Congress.

Major newspapers throughout the United States have suggested that as voter anger grows over government shutdowns and gridlock, it is time to look to California and its political reforms. The people can take back their government. California has shown the way.