What If We All Become Independent Voters?

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• What if we all become 'independent' voters? (Letter to the Editor, Kennebec Journal) If millions of citizens changed their voter registration to "independent" or "unaffiliated," we would be letting Congress know that they have lost our party loyalty and now we want to see performance. Let them know their party system is in jeopardy of becoming very irrelevant.

Friendly amendment: Let them know their party system HAS BECOME very irrelevant...

• Overselling the importance of independent voters (Posted by Glenn Kessler, Washington Post/The Fact Checker) The “independent” vote is a political chimera — an ever-changing organism that does not shed much light on who is going to win the election. Political ideology is a much better guide to figuring out who is going to be the winner — and the loser.

OPEN PRIMARIES

• The Top-Two Verdict: Little Gains, Plenty of Costs The top-two system produced few little gains -- not nearly enough to make up for its costs. (By Joe Mathews, NBC San Diego/Prop Zero) Let's hope California's good government community comes to its senses and takes a clear-eyed look at the evidence. Louisiana and Washington state have shifted to top two -- with no discernible positive impact on their politics. And, unfortunately, other states, unaware of the costs, are considering top two. The good news is that Arizona voters turned down top two.
• More top-two primaries like Washington’s could be the answer to crippling political partisanship (By Kate Riley, Seattle Times editorial page editor) Washington state’s top-two primary is a model for the nation. Author Mickey Edwards suggests other states should follow Washington to send more moderates to Congress…. “The revolution is starting,” Edwards said. “It’s started in Washington and California.”
• How to win in California's top-two system (by Sean J. Miller, Campaigns and Elections) Thrown together by redistricting in a conjoined San Fernando Valley seat, Berman initially faced Sherman in the June primary, which was the first statewide use of California's new top-two system. Berman lost by 10 points, but instead of going home under the new rules he advanced to the November election as the second-place finisher.
• How much did the Top Two Primary change California elections? (Ed Coghlan, California Forward) It’s a question that will be better answered after Tuesday’s election, but there’s no doubt it has changed the political landscape of the Golden State. At least that’s the conclusion of political scientists from Cal Tech and MIT who are studying the state’s new primary system. In 2010, California voters changed the primary system by approving Prop. 14, which reduces the influence of the political parties. Rather than having a guaranteed Democrat and Republican in a November general election, the new system selects the two candidates with the most votes for the November general election, even if they are from the same party.