Arizona, Connecticut Calls for Open Primaries

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Arizona group pushing for open elections (By Joanne Ingram, Green Valley News) Sometimes referred to as a top-two primary, such an election would have all voters choosing from one slate of candidates. At present, those registered with a political party vote in that party’s primary, while registered independents can choose a party’s primary ballot.
• Op-Ed | Open Up the Primaries (by Susan Bigelow, CT News Junkie) Of course, if Connecticut’s political parties were actually interested in fairness, which they aren’t, they might consider doing the unthinkable and backing legislation to throw primaries at all levels open to everyone.

Arizona Independents Have to Pick a Party for Primary Vote

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Independent voters can't remain independent in primary (By Bud Foster, KOLD News 13 CBS) For the first time, the city of Tucson is holding an all mail in primary election. It's designed to save money and increase voter participation. But for the independent voter, it's an uneasy feeling. On May 25, the city clerk's office sent out a post card telling independents if they wanted to vote in the primary, they had to request a GOP, Democrat, or Green Party ballot. Nearly 8,600 have done so. But that leaves 61,000 who have not.
• Editorial: California's Republicans should stop whining, build the party (The Monterey County Herald) Since the last redistricting a decade ago, the Republican share of California voters has fallen by 4percent to less than 32 percent. The Dems' share also dropped but only by 1 point, to 44 percent. Twenty percent of registered California voters now call themselves independents, but that should drop when open primaries begin in June. The secret to keeping the GOP from becoming a third party of sorts is for it to offer up more moderate candidates and fewer partisans who pledge to vote the party line and to vote against any tax increases no matter how necessary or logical.
• Ron Bancroft: For Class of 1961, time running short to turn nation around (By RON BANCROFT, Portland Press Herald - OR) Such redistricting will likely lead to a better balance of both parties in more districts – a good thing that diminishes extreme partisanship. The single open primary now being used in the state of Washington is meant to do the same thing. In a single primary, all candidates contest on one ballot. The primary is open to all voters. The top two vote-getters go on to the general election. Again, the theory here is that those candidates who appeal to a broader range of voters are more likely to achieve top positioning.

Arizona Top Two Abolish Party Primaries

OPEN PRIMARIES
Arizona Group Wants to Abolish Party Primaries (KSAZ- Fox Phoenix) The Arizona Open Government Coalition wants to replace the party primaries with a single-primary system open to all voters. The two candidates with the most votes would advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation.

Voters Want Top Two Open Primaries

OPEN PRIMARIES

• California’s Golden Opportunity at Bipartisanship (Reid Wilson, National Journal/On the Trail) The second development, ironically, gives the parties much less say in selecting a nominee. Under a 2010 voter initiative, the top two finishers in a primary advance to the general election—regardless of their party affiliation. That means there is no guarantee a Republican or Democrat makes it through to November; a primary could just as easily produce two Republicans, or two Democrats (That was almost the case in a recent special election in California's 36th Congressional District, where a Republican businessman made it to the general election by a scant margin).
• Group seeks single primary to counter Ariz. party extremists (by Mary Jo Pitzl, The Arizona Republic) The Arizona Open Government Coalition wants to replace those traditional primaries, which they largely blame for what they describe as the state's extremist politics, with a single-primary system open to all voters. Under its proposal, the top two vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, would advance to the general election.

Arizona Voters Are Choosing Independence

ARIZONA INDEPENDENTS

• Arizona voters choosing independence (By The Associated Press, AzCapitolTimes) Arizona voters continue to skip the party. The Secretary of State’s Office says new registration figures show independents outnumbered Democrats for the first time in January.
• Can independents vote in Arizona primaries? (Hankster Open Primaries page)

Arizona Independents Told to Pick a Party to Vote; California Politicians Conflict of Interest in Drawing Their Own Districts

OPEN PRIMARIES
No-party adherents are told to pick one (Rhonda Bodfield, Arizona Daily Star) There is no independent primary. But since 1998, independents have been able to vote in the various party primaries. They just have to pick which one they want to vote in. For an all-mail election, the notice telling them to pick a party is the equivalent of walking into a polling place and telling the poll worker which party's primary you want to vote in.

INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING
Letter: Supervisors shouldn't draw districts (Chico Enterprise-Record) When will politicians like Wahl get the message that it is a conflict of interest to be drawing their own lines?

2012

• Obama needs to court Latino vote (By: C. Nicole Mason, executive director of the Women of Color Policy Network at New York University's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, in Winnipeg Free Press) In 2008, Obama relied heavily on the votes of blacks and independent voters to carry him to victory. However, in the mid-term elections, uneasy about the economy and high unemployment, both groups preferred the couch to the voting booth. This, however, was not the case for Latinos, who set a mid-term election record with a turnout of more than six million. 
• Obama’s drawdown plan ‘about right,’ poll finds (By Scott Wilson and Jon Cohen, Washington Post/Checkpoint) Obama has been courting independent voters for months, and 40 percent of respondents who identified themselves as independents said his withdrawal plan is “about right."

NEW JERSEY
From Confusion to Fusion: Union Survival in the Age of Christie (By John D. Atlas/NJ Voices, Star Ledger) If the union movement wants to break out its dilemma it better build some kind of independent political party capable of winning power or it will face a future between a rock and a hard place.

NEW YORK
Before Passing Marriage Bill, Senate Extended Rent Regulations and More (by David King, Gotham Gazette) According to a study by Common Cause/NY, New York City, real estate interests donated almost $10 million to local and statewide races in 2009-2010 -- a sum nearly double what was spent by the real estate industry from 2007-2008. Fifty-two percent ($5,114,665) of that cash went to Democrats, while 24 percent ($2,351,924) went to Republicans. The remaining 24 percent was spread throughout third parties and ther groups, with the largest amount -- more than 9 percent -- going to the Independence Party… One major issue that the Senate chose to ignore was independent redistricting. During the 2010 election season, former Mayor Ed Koch and his NY Uprising group won pledges from a majority of legislators on both sides of the aisle to support independent redistricting.


MEDIA
Poll: Fewer Californians follow political news (The Associated Press, Sac Bee) The 25 percent who say they follow news of government and politics "only now and then (or) hardly at all" is up from 20 percent in 1999 and 16 percent in 1979. Voters who consider themselves independents were the least likely to say they follow political news closely: Only 30 percent of nonpartisan voters said they paid close attention to political news, compared with 41 percent of Democrats and 50 percent of Republicans.

Open Primaries Heads Growing List of Urgent Political Reforms

In a study done by Harvard Kennedy School Lecturer Elaine C. Kamarck and Brookings Institution Senior Fellow William A. Galston, a conclusion was drawn that changing the way we elect our leaders could reduce the "polarization" of American politics. The key to doing this they say: Opening up primaries to everyone instead of restricting it by party affiliation.

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Report Examines Political Partisans (By ARIANE LITALIEN, Harvard Crimson) According to Galston and Kamarck, one way to reduce extremism in American politics is to open primaries to all voters instead of restraining them to members of particular political parties.

ILLINOIS

• No Surprises: Rahm Wins in Chicago - The suits remain firmly in control of the Windy City. What does Emanuel’s victory mean for urban progressive politics? (By DAVID MOBERG, In These Times) Reformers in Chicago in the ’60s and ’70s called themselves “independents,” un-bought by and opposed to machine rule. With the Washington movement, progressives identified as fighting for the interests of neighborhoods and communities… But under Daley II the progressive forces—political reformers, community organizations, neighborhood development groups, civil rights organizations and others—weakened, more often soliciting modest help from Daley than posing real challenges.
• Candidates not done in 14 wards, could get assist from Emanuel (By Abdon M. Pallasch and Fran Spielman, Chicago Sun Times) In the South Side’s 20th Ward, grammy-winning hip hop artist Che “Rhymefest” Smith, 33, managed to force freshman Ald. Willie Cochran into a run-off. “I believe that, because I’m an artist, my ability to think creatively, my ability to communicate, allows me to be a more effective advocate for my community when I speak on their behalf in the City Council.”

NEW YORK

• EXCERPT Winners & Losers, Feb. 25 edition (By City Hall) Pigeon has found new life working on Golisano's National Popular Vote campaign

VERMONT

• Procedural Victory in Vermont Ballot Access Lawsuit (Ballot Access News) Until 2010, the Vermont independent candidate petition deadline had been in September, but the 2010 session of the legislature made it drastically earlier than it had been.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS 8/27/10

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Time for Obama to Pull a Clinton (By DOUGLAS E. SCHOEN, Wall Street Journal) The independent voters who hold the fate of the Democrats in their hands are looking for candidates who champion, in a bipartisan context, fiscal discipline, limited government, deficit reduction and a free market, pro-growth agenda. If Democrats don't offer this, they will be branded liberal tax-and-spenders.

OPEN PRIMARIES

• VT: Primary process limits choices (LETTER Rutland VT Herald) I am writing this letter to draw your attention to the injustice that is experienced by ‘independent’ voters during primary elections, which are held year after year.
• LA: Election is historic, so go and vote (EDITORIAL St. Tammany News) Last closed primary - this will be the last closed primary election for Congressional candidates. The Legislature passed, and the governor signed into law that after the general election in November, all primaries will be open. Currently under the closed primary system, a Republican voter has to vote for a Republican candidate, Democrats for Democrats and so forth.
• FL: Lawmakers need to write off the write-in loophole - THE ISSUE: Undemocratic fixture remains in elections laws. (EDITORIAL Sun Sentinel FL)
• DC: DC primaries should be scrapped (by Topher Mathews, Greater Washington.org) But nonetheless, DC's primary election system has no legitimate purpose and should be scrapped in favor of an instant run-off voting system for the general election.

THIRD PARTIES

• If traditional politics bore you, consider the Toga Party (by Ry Rivard, Daily Mail Capitol Reporter WV) The Democrat, Republican and Mountain parties all have open primaries, which allow voters who are not affiliated with one of the other three major parties to vote for their primary candidates. Among the 130 parties are established if little-known minor parties, like the Constitution Party, a national conservative party that claims about 70 members in West Virginia. There are 1,300 self-identified Libertarian Party members.... There are also 185,000 voters with no party affiliation and 12,200 declared Independents.
• Delaware politics: Minor parties add candidates to ballot - House, Senate hopefuls slated by Blue Enigma, Independent Party and Working Families groups (By GINGER GIBSON, The News Journal DE)

COLORADO

• Ballot-bound HD-61 hopefuls weigh in (Gunnison Times) Then there is incumbent Kathleen Curry of Gunnison. During her three-term stint in the Colorado House of Representatives, Curry has risen to become one of the state's most well-known and popular political leaders. Yet her chances of winning re-election this November hinge on being successful as a write-in candidate -- which would be a nearly unprecedented feat for a statewide office-holder.

ARIZONA

• Post-primary election analysis (by Three Sonorans, Tucson Citizen) Why would so many Independents have chosen to vote in the Republican primary? I think the answer is very simple. The most popular race in the nation for Tuesday’s primary was taking place in Arizona, and JD Hayworth scared the bejeezus out of the Independents, and they decided to vote in the Republican primary for McCain.
• David Freddoso: McCain's easy win undercuts Democrats' story line (By: DAVID FREDDOSO, Washington Examiner) Here's a tip for gamblers: Most or all of the "unelectable" conservatives will win in November 2010. It will come as a surprise only to liberal pundits, who view most Americans' opinions as outside of the mainstream because they remain stubbornly unlike the opinions of President Obama.

NEW YORK

• Suffolk’s Ethics Probe Enigma Consumes All - Levy, legislature, DA and Newsday all caught in ethics feud (By Timothy Bolger, Long Island Press) As for the man chosen to wade into the firestorm and report his findings within the next three months, the legislature voted 13-5 to hire Joseph Conway, a Mineola-based criminal defense attorney, former federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of New York and member of the Independence Party.
• The Unrepentant Republican Party (By Sam Foster, American Thinker) While the September primaries will likely resolve the Republicans' mistake in NY-1, the damage has already been done in the case of NY-23. Given NY's proclivity for third-party ballot lines, Matt's name will appear on the Independence Party ticket, and Doug Hoffman on the Conservative line, despite the Republican primary outcome. The flagrant hatred exhibited by Republican leaders for Hoffman makes it hard to believe that party bosses could unite under Doug Hoffman's potential candidacy. Thus, another three-way race is brewing in NY-23, and the possibility for the district to shed its sickly shade of blue is quickly slipping out of reach.

NYC CHARTER REVISION

• Do-over on term limits: Charter commission must fix the botch it made of its mandate (EDITORIAL NY Daily News)

Independents on the Rise

So long, Ben Westlund, thanks for your contribution!.... "Total Resistance and 'talk of' Revolution" from major party insiders... zzzzz..... sorry... whaaa? Oh, that's right -- Repubs are trying to close open primaries in Arizona to independents.... Keep on keepin on....!


INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Is Total Resistance and Talk of 'Revolution' A Winning Strategy for the GOP In 2010? Not Likely. (By Joe Rothstein, Editor, EINNEWS.COM)
• Distrust of politics is out of hand-A long-standing wariness of government has morphed into a deeper distrust and even hatred of government that's felt by enough people to scare elected officials out of doing what they need to do to make government better. (Jerry Large, Seattle Times staff columnist)
• After Scott Brown (By Joan Vennochi, Boston Globe Columnist) There’s a new way of measuring politics. Before Scott Brown and After Scott Brown.
• No doom for Dems (By Brent Budowsky, The Hill)
• More Republicans Break With Liz Cheney Over “Al Qaeda 7″ Ad Campaign (POSTED BY JOE GANDELMAN, The Moderate Voice)  And there are larger consquences for the GOP on how it approaches this issue, manufactured by Cheney and her associates. It’s unlikely to play well with independent voters. But GOPers who are speaking out that this is unacceptable will probably find their stock — and the stock of those who they support politically — will go up among some independent voters as a result.

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Republicans trying to change Arizona election laws (Maricopa County Libertarian Examiner, Darell Tapp) Matt Roberts, spokesman for the state Republican Party said, “The Party believes that shutting out registered independents from their primary is a way “to encourage independents to join the Republican Party.”
• Getting ready for statewide vote on sales tax (Arizona Republic) The growth of independent voters appears to be a trend nationwide, especially in Western states such as Arizona. I don't see this trend abating anytime soon. Public polling shows voter frustration with both major political parties, and Arizona's system of open-primary elections gives little incentive to register as a Republican or Democrat for the purpose of voting.
• SDLD SPEAKER CONFIRMED: SENATOR ABEL MALDONADO (Written by  California Special Districts Association, Public CEO)
• CALIFORNIA GREEN PARTY CONCERNED ABOUT OPEN PRIMARY INITIATIVE (by Christopher A. Guzman, CAIVN) From the Green Party’s perspective, its gradual extinction in California is disheartening. Let’s face it, no one likes to die in a political sense.  At the same time, it’s a normal part of the political process for particular political parties to transform or pass on as the voter demographic changes over time. In actuality, the top two open primary initiative could force incumbents and candidates from all parties to actually discuss matters that are most relevant to the state’s struggles.  It might compel them to reach broader audiences by going beyond the regional confines of strictly Northern, Southern, or Central California.
• California Legislative Hearing on Proposition 14 Can be Watched (Ballot Access News)

KENTUCKY

• Interpreters help spread the word for mayoral candidates --Immigrants hear from candidates (By Dan Klepal, Louisville Courier Journal)

NEW YORK

• NY-23: Hoffman Runs Again (By Naftali Bendavid, Wall Street Journal/Washwire) Hoffman’s renewed entry into the race, this time hoping to win the Republican as well as Conservative and Independence party nominations, reaffirms that hard-hitting fiscal conservatives and candidates supported by the tea party movement intend to play a big role in the upcoming election. What their impact will be is less clear.
• New York School Closings Move the Angry to Action (by Megan Behrent, Labor Notes)

LIBERTARIAN PARTY

• Texas Libertarian Party influences local non-partisan elections (Collin County Independent Examiner, Seth Hollist)

LAST WORD(S)

• Ben Westlund, Former Oregon Independent Senator, Dies (Ballot Access News)
• Ben Westlund Passes Away (Kari Chisholm, BlueOregon) 
• A Time of Limits (by William Galston, Democracy Journal - Spring 2010) Other structural features of American politics had shifted in ways that deepened the disanalogy between the New Deal/Great Society eras and the circumstances that Obama faced. In the first place, far more Americans identified themselves as conservative than as liberal. This was true the day Obama was elected, and it is more so today. By the end of 2009, conservatives held a two-to-one edge over liberals and had surged ahead of moderates to form the largest ideological block in the electorate. This fact alone makes it implausible to characterize the election of 2008 as the evidence of a swing to the left. More likely, it reflected widespread public discontent with the economic and foreign policy performance of the Bush Administration, and the willingness to give a promising young leader a chance to prove he could do better. And as disappointment with the new Administration has set in, the dominant response has been not a swing towards Republicans, but rather "a plague on both your houses."

Open Primaries, Redistricting, Independent Candidates: Towards a Citizen Legislature?

Arizona Repubs snub independent voters, jump on anti-open primaries bandwagon, debate continues over Prop 14 in California... Two Dems-turned-independent in Colorado push forward with equal registration timeline requirements for unaffiliated and independent candidates.... And 31,000 Californians sign up to be on the Citizens Redistricting Commission...

OPEN PRIMARIES

• GOP goal: Shut out one-third of voters (by E. J. Montini, The Arizona Republic)
• McCain Vs. Hayworth: A Scene From the GOP Civil War? (POSTED BY JIM NINTZEL, Tucson Weekly)
• ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE DEBATES POTENTIAL COSTS OF OPEN PRIMARY INITIATIVE (by Greg Lucas, CAIVN)

COLORADO

• Opening the electoral process-Independent candidates push goes to Denver (by Christine Rasmussen, Durango Telegraph) La Plata County Commissioner Joelle Riddle’s push for equal registration-timeline requirements for unaffiliated or independent candidates passed its first test Feb. 22. The Colorado House Judiciary Committee smiled on Colorado House Bill-1271 with an 11-0 vote.
• Busy morning in Legislature (by Joe Hanel, Durango Herald Denver Bureau) Also Wednesday: b The House passed Rep. Kathleen Curry's bill to allow unaffiliated candidates more time to declare their intent to run for office. Curry dropped out of the Democratic Party in December, too late to qualify for the ballot as an unaffiliated candidate. La Plata County Commissioner Joelle Riddle has the same problem for this year's election. Curry's HB 1271 passed the House 58-7. Both Roberts and Tipton voted for it. It now heads to the Senate, but even if it passes, it would not help Riddle and Curry, because it would take effect in 2012.

REDISTRICTING

• Californians Compete for a Shot at Redistricting (By JENNIFER STEINHAUER, NY Times)

Who Owns the Non-Partisan Independent Label?

And who needs a label?


TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES on INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Poll: Majority want work to continue on health care reform bill (CNN Political Ticker) The survey indicates that 56 percent of independent voters say congressional Republicans aren't doing enough to try and work with the president and Democrats in Congress. Half of independents see the president as too unwilling to compromise and 28 percent feel both parties are not doing enough when it comes to bipartisanship.
• Poll Shows Voters Abandoning Prez in Droves; Bam Gets Real Kick Indy Ass (iStock Analyst) NOTE: "Kick Indy Ass"?? Whaa? Apparently NY Post writer Geoff Earle wrote that headline for the Post but it didn't get printed, wonder why... Has Mr. Earle ever spoken to a kick-ass indy? Just askin...
• PARTY SOCIOLOGY: SPURIOUS LEADERS + FURIOUS FOLLOWERS = POWER REDISTRIBUTION (By: David McCleary, The Cypress Times - TX) America’s previous answer to the troublesome aspects of the dual party political system has been the non-partisan “Independent” label. Independent voters often swing elections and encourage less polarizing, govern-from-the-center political leadership. The Tea Party’s recent rapid growth tells us that catering to the Independents and appearing to lead from the center is not enough.
• Guest Column: And now, a word from the independents (By Jackie Salit, Rock River Times - Rockford IL)

OPEN PRIMARIES

• R.I. Republicans battle over inclusiveness of primary elections (By Steve Peoples and Katherine Gregg, Providence Journal State House Bureau)
• Call For Fair And Open Primaries In Bucks County (LETTER The Philadelphia Bulletin)

MASSACHUSETTS

• Democrats unhappy with Jill Stein over governor candidacy (Boston Progressive Examiner, Michael Richardson)

CALIFORNIA

• California Assembly panel approves Maldonado's nomination -- after grilling (By Susan Ferriss, Sac Bee)
• As We See It: Maldonado squabble a symbol of petty politics (Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Arizona Strike-Everything guts open primary bill

-- Arizona partisan politics has produced a peculiar habit: state legislators are allowed to gut a bill, called "strike everything", and substitute another bill into the framework, thus ending up with a completely different bill with the same number. So when independent Congressional candidate Annie Loyd went to testify yesterday on a bill that the state Senate passed legislation by a 27-0 margin that would allow independents to vote in the contests, apparently the state House frankly didn't give a damn. By the time Annie got there, the House had struck everything from this bill. No soup for you!

Here are 2 more examples of this practice:

• Add teeth, or pull bill aimed at self-promotion (East Valley Tribune Editorial) That plan couldn’t get even a committee hearing in the state Senate. So Waring used a “strike-everything” amendment to put his proposal on another bill that already had reached the House.
  
• It's back: Marriage proposal resurrected (Arizona Capitol Times)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Actually, independent voters care a lot (Donna Lee Richards, Concord Monitor)
• If independents don't care about politics, why are the candidates wooing them in New Hampshire? (Arizona Central)
• ‘Long shot’ Kucinich scores 77% in independent voter poll (Daily Scare blog)
• The Huckmonster Returns to Another Monster: Dick Morris- local Little Rock reform activist talks dirt on Huckabee (by Skip Cook, OpEdNews)
• When blacks run for president (CBS News) News)
• Bill Clinton's negative attacks on Obama not appreciated (Black Star News Editorial)
• Calling The Kettle Black--Clinton's attacks on Obama (Black Voice News)
• Arizona Presidential Preference Election Limited to Republicans, Democrats (KTAR)
• The Path to a National Popular Vote (By David Sirota, Truthdig)

More Conversations on Arizona Independents

On the same topic, The Hankster also received this from Arthur DeFazio

I and thousands of other Independent Arizona voters need your help. I have just been informed that individuals who are registered as Independents in the State of Arizona (such as myself) will NOT be permitted to vote in the upcoming presidential primary. Our current governor, Democrat Janet Napolitano, apparently made this decision back when she was the (elected) Arizona Attorney General. However, no one (including myself) seems to have really been aware of this until recently. This is significant, since the number of Independent voters has nearly doubled in recent years. Currently, there are 755,000 independent voters registered in Arizona, while the Democrats have 855,000 registered voters and the Republicans have just over one million registered voters.

You may find information on this situation in the Tucson newspaper, the Arizona Daily Star

Arizona has a direct primary election law (as required by the Arizona Constitution) that allows independents to “vote in the primary election of any one of the political parties that is qualified for the ballot.” The Constitution (Article 7, Section 10) refers specifically to elections “for all elective State, county, and city offices, including candidates for United States Senator and for Representative in Congress.” However, the office of President is not mentioned. For this reason, then Attorney General Napolitano decided in 1999 that the presidential primary election was specifically excluded from the provisions of Arizona’s “Open Primary” law. The text of her decision may be found here.

I don’t believe it is fair to force Independents in one particular state of the Union to choose between either maintaining their Independent status or being excluded from one of the most important presidential primaries in the history of our nation.

Perhaps posting this information in your blog will help to get the word out about this terrible act of discrimination.

Sincerely,
Arthur DeFazio

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Arizona Dem, Repub (but not Libertarian) primaries remain open to independents (The Arizona Republic)
• Virginia appeals court rules part of open primary law unconstitutional (WAVY TV 10 Richmond)
• The Independent Vote in New Hampshire (New York Times-The Caucus)
• Independents May Be Crucial in New Hampshire (New York Times)
• Washington State's Primary System Argued (AP/Google)
• POLITICAL MONEY: Rich Donors Make State Party Coffers Bulge (Wall Street Journal)
• Oakland mayor Ron Dellums backs Clinton (Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette)