Hankster News of the Day for Independents May 15

If you're independent, you won't be voting today in Idaho... Poor poor Michael Russnow, can't find Dianne Feinstein's name in the "clutter"! ... WI Gov Walker failing with indies... Americans Elect failing... Christine Quinn plays it safe to get the 2013 NYC Mayoral...

CA TOP TWO

• California Primary Ballot Hodgepodge: We Need a Return to Voting By Party Members Only (Michael Russnow, Screenwriter, former Member WGAW Board of Directors, former U.S. Senate aide, Huffington Post) Remembering that this was the year long-time incumbent Dianne Feinstein was running for re-election, I was hard pressed to find her in the ensuing clutter. Nor was it easier to find her opponents, none of whom I had ever heard of.
• “No Party Preference” Voters To Sway Senate District 15 (by Jane Susskind, IVN) Almost 28% of voters in Senate District 15 have opted out of the two-party system and are registered as “No Party Preference,” placing this district on our radar of races to watch.
• California focus - Feinstein strength exposes primary weakness (By THOMAS D. ELIAS, Ukiah Daily Journal) The top-two, or "jungle primary" system voters adopted for themselves and will use for the first time next month, will put the two leading finishers in every legislative and congressional race into November runoffs, regardless of their party affiliation. But U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein appears about to expose one wasteful difference between the new primary system and the way special elections have long operated: In special elections, if one candidate gets more than 50 percent of the first-round vote, there's no runoff. That candidate simply wins. Not so with the new primary setup. No one running for Congress will win outright next month.

IDAHO CLOSED PRIMARY

• 8 Things You Need To Know To Vote In Idaho’s Primary (Samantha Wright / Boise State Public Radio) Closed Primary:  This year, Idaho made the switch to a closed primary system.  The Idaho Republican Party sued the state to make this happen, as Party Executive Director Jonathan Parker explains. “We do believe that it is our right to essentially let Republicans chose Republican candidates, Democrats choose Democrat candidates, as these are the candidates who will be our standard bearers, carrying the torch for the Republican Party in November.
• Idaho Primary: Why The GOP Closed Its Ballot (By Samantha Wright, Boise State Public Radio) Grant says there was never a Democratic mandate to cross over and vote for someone in the GOP primary.  But he does say, in local races, a tiny fraction of Democrats have done this.  “And in many areas those races are decided in the Republican Primary.  So there are folks, I’m sure there are folks now, folks that are good Democrats that have registered as Republicans so they can vote in those local races.”… That could be a challenge for the 37 percent of Idahoans who label themselves Independent, according to a 2011 Public Policy Survey by Boise State University.

WISCONSIN RECALL
Poll: Wis. Gov. Walker leads Dem opponent by 9 points in recall (By Justin Sink, The Hill/ Blog Briefing Room) But Walker's lead shrinks among independent voters, among whom the incumbent governor holds just a three-point advantage. That's an encouraging sign for Barrett, who must make inroads among swing voters as well as rally his Democratic base.

AMERICANS ELECT
Americans Elect vote deadline hours away (Jonathan Tilove, The Times-Picayune) "Yes, the deadline is 11:59:59 tonight," Americans Elect spokesman Ileana Wachtel said in an email this morning, referring to the requirement that, in order to compete in the Americans Elect voting a candidate must first gain 1,000 clicks from supporters in each of 10 states. The leading declared candidate, by a mile, is former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer, but as of today he had only 5,618 clicks, and the most from any single state is 583 from California.

NYC 2013 MAYORAL

• Speaker Christine Quinn primary sponsor of just two of 827 bills submitted to City Council since 2010 - Exclusive: Council sources say she avoids lending name to legislation so it won't hurt mayoral run (By Reuven Blau / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS) The News’ review found that the most active Council member in terms of introducing legislation was Gale Brewer (D-Manhattan), who submitted 62 bills. They ranged from a measure requiring the city to post more statistical data online to one to force the city to purchase locally grown vegetables. Most of Brewer’s bills stalled in committee, but the mayor signed seven into law, including the measure to disclose city data. Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Queens) was second, with 49 bills, followed by Councilman Daniel Garodnick (D-Manhattan), with 44.
• New York Voters Support Minimum Wage Increase, Poll Says (By THOMAS KAPLAN, NY Times/ City Room) Democrats and independent voters were strongly supportive of raising the minimum wage, the poll found, with 88 percent of Democrats and 75 percent of independents in support.