David Seifman on Open Primaries

City Hall Bureau Chief for the New York Post David Seifman moderated the New York County Lawyers Association forum last night on Open Primaries. Watch the video of his comments after the discussion...

"November 2008-Are Open Primaries The Problem or The Solution?"

The New York County Lawyers Association presents: "November 2008-Are Open Primaries The Problem or The Solution?" Independents shaped the presidential season in 2008, first in the primaries and then in November, and currently 33 states in the country have open primaries for presidential primaries, so why can't Independent New Yorkers vote in primaries? Thursday December 4 at 6pm A free forum hosted by the New York County Lawyer' Association on Open Primaries. Check out Elizabeth Benjamins Daily News blog on the forum entitled Old Issue, New Twist.

Panelists:

Harry Kresky, Counsel, New York City Organizations of the New York Independence Party and one of the country's leading legal experts on the issue of open primaries.

Jacqueline Salit, President of the Committtee for a Unified Independent Party (www.independentvoting.org)

Steven H. Richman, General Counsel to the Board of Elections in New York City

Jacob Weintraub, Former Agency Counsel for Democratic and Republican Governors

Moderator:

David Seifman, City Hall Bureau Chief, New York Post

Location: NYCLA Home of Law, 14 Vesey Street, (between Broadway and Church Streets) - Map

Please RSVP 212-962-1699.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Swing voters give Obama flexibility to solve US economic crisis (Christian Science Monitor) The focus group results also give some insight into Obama’s wins in other red states such as Indiana, Colorado, Nevada, and North Carolina. Keeping the support of those swing voters will be crucial if Obama wants to govern effectively.
• Malcolm X, Obama, Powell, Rice and ‘House Negroes’ (Tri-State Defender) Malcolm X: “The organization of Afro-American Unity will organize the Afro-American community block by block to make the community aware of its power and potential; we will start immediately a voter-registration drive to make every unregistered voter in the Afro-American community an independent voter; we propose to support and/or organize political clubs, to run independent candidates for office, and to support any Afro-American already in office who answers to and is responsible to the Afro-American community…"
• State's independents gain a foothold (The Durham News) unaffiliated voters surpassed both parties in their rate of growth, increasing by about 220,000 -- or 18 percent. These gains were made primarily among voters ages 18-24, meaning an increasing number of voters -- especially young voters -- refuse to identify with any party at all.
• Time to target gerrymandering (LETTER Lebanon Daily News) Redistricting reform is not a partisan matter. Redistricting reform in Pennsylvania should be attractive to voters in both political parties as well as independent voters.
• Old Issue, New Twist (NY Daily News/Daily Politics) The New York County Lawyers' Association's Election Law Committee will hold a public forum next week on the question of open primaries, and the line-up - from Independence Party attorney Harry Kresky to Post City Hall Bureau Chief David Seifman (acting as the moderator - is sure to make for a lively discussion.
• Chris Matthews Senate Run? Report Says He's Staffing Up... UPDATE: Matthews Denies (The Huffington Post) yes he is, no he's not, yes he is, no he's not....
• Baseball's postseason needs to capture the 'independents' (USA TODAY) If we compare postseason television broadcasting to the recent election, television has the votes of fans whose teams are playing locked up, but it needs to capture the independent voters.