Oklahoma Bill Would Give Independents the Right to Vote in Presidential Primaries

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• POLL: CALIFORNIA'S INDEPENDENTS WEIGH IN (by Damon Eris, CAIVN) Published earlier this month on the basis of interviews with over 2,000 California voters, the political affiliations of the poll’s respondents roughly mirror official registration numbers in the state at large: 45% Democrat, 34% Republican and 20% Independent, with 1% in support of another party. 

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Bill would allow Independents to vote in presidential primaries (Jenks Journal - Tulsa OK) A bill by Rep. Eric Proctor (D-Tulsa) would give Oklahoma’s 240,000 registered Independents the opportunity to vote in Oklahoma’s presidential primary election.
• Special Elections Won't Offer Much Of A Test Of Open Primary Law (By Gene Maddaus, LA WEEKLY/Politics Blog) Non-partisan redistricting gets most of the attention, but the new "jungle primary" may be the more radical reform. Redistricting won't go into effect until 2012, but the new primary system will get its first test on Feb. 15.

NEW YORK

• New governor, new pledge for reform (North Country Public Radio) Sue Lerner, with Common Cause, says Cuomo should use the momentum from his landslide victory and popularity as Attorney General to achieve his objectives early on, including non partisan re-drawing of legislative and congressional district lines, and campaign finance reform.
• NY Senate Republicans say Democrats overspent (Associated Press, Wall Street Journal) The Democrats chose three leaders with expanded staffs: Sens. John Sampson of Brooklyn, Malcolm Smith of Queens and Pedro Espada of the Bronx.
• If you're Con then you're on - Vote hike gives Conservatives ballot spot (By MICHAEL GORMLEY, NY Post) [This is the AP report]