Pennsylvania Campaign for Open Primaries

PENNSYLVANIA CAMPAIGN FOR OPEN PRIMARIES

• Every vote counts? You better believe it (By Patriot-News Editorial Board) Perhaps if there isn’t enough interest from Democrats and Republicans to vote in the primary, we should change the law to allow independent voters to cast their ballots to help boost turnout.
• Contact Pennsylvania Independents for more information

Voters Beware: Pennsylvania Elections Lock Out Independents

Pennsylvania's growing group of independent voters is not happy with being locked out of the state's closed primary rules... California voters won a top two open primary system through referendum last June...

PA NEEDS OPEN PRIMARIES

Feels left out (LETTER Daily American - PA) Yesterday was not an opportunity to exercise my right to vote. Indeed, I was not allowed to vote because I am a registered Independent and the political parties are so afraid of the Independent voters and their free from political bondage thinking, that they have quietly, but surely, removed any chance that we might actually influence a selection of candidates by structuring the voting process to exclude us.

TOP TWO OPEN PRIMARY CALIFORNIA

Playing Chess on the Prop 14 Game Board (By Joel Fox, FOX & HOUNDS DAILY) Los Angeles County election officials say we won't know until at least Friday who will be in the runoff for the 36th Congressional District seat. This race could prove the first test of Proposition 14 and not merely in the sense of having two members of the same party facing each other in the general election.

Pennsylvania's Independent Voters Want Open Primaries

PENNSYLVANIA INDEPENDENTS

• INDEPENDENT VOTERS SHUT OUT IN PENNSYLVANIA - The Republicans and Democrats maintain control by keeping nonaffiliated voters and candidates away (Philadelphia Magazine/The Philly Post) As I walked into the polling place, I kept my head down and my registration status to myself. A couple of years ago an older Democratic party volunteer outside of the Church berated me for “throwing away my vote” by not registering with a party. Truthfully, I don’t believe in either party enough to affiliate myself. But I did not throw away my votes. (I still show up to vote on the ballot issues—just one this time.) My vote was taken from me on this day by a corrupt and antiquated state law. In the vast majority of states, Independent or nonpartisan voters are able to vote for candidates in a primary election. The voting procedures vary, but the result is the same—no one is denied his or her vote.
• Contact Independent Pennsylvanians for the campaign for open primaries
• Former Mayor John Street Considering Independent Candidacy in Philadelphia (by Darcy G. Richardson, Uncovered Politics) If the former mayor decides to enter the race as an independent, he would undoubtedly be the strongest independent or third-party candidate to run for mayor in the City of Brotherly Love since 1975 when attorney Charles W. Bowser — one of Philadelphia’s most respected civic leaders and the city’s first African-American Deputy Mayor — garnered 134,334 votes on the Philadelphia Party ticket while trying to unseat the late Frank L. Rizzo.

Pennsylvania Cordisco Calls for Open Primaries

PENNSYLVANIA REFORM

• Unlikely bedfellows push state reform (By Gary Weckselblatt, PhillyBurbs.com) John Cordisco, chairman of the Bucks County Democratic Committee, called for a review of lawmaker pensions, suggested that independent voters be allowed to participate in the primary, and wants the lame duck session to be abolished claiming "accountability has been thwarted."
• Independent Pennsylvanians attended a national conference where focus was on open primaries. What's our new governor going to do? He said he supported open primaries during his campaign. There's a bill to open primaries...will he keep his word?

Support for DePasquale Pennsylvania Bill to Include Independents in Primary Vote

Joseph Deinlein, a writer for the Sunbury PA Daily Item, writes about a "glimmer of hope for the independent voters" in Of primary concern 

 As one who has been an independent since I registered to vote, I’ve always hated not being allowed to vote in the primary. Particularly in Pennsylvania, off-year municipal elections tend to get decided in May, not November, because often there is only one party that puts forth any candidates. It gets more complicated at the local level when there are multiple people running on both sides.

State Rep. Eugene DePasquale, D-York, announced last week the introduction of a package of four bills designed to improve voter turnout and give more voters a voice on Election Day.

The first bill would allow voters registered as Independents to cast ballots in Pennsylvania primary elections.

"In an era where more and more voters are registering as Independents, we should not be denying those voters the chance to make their voices heard in a primary election," DePasquale said. "This bill would allow Independents to choose which party’s ballot they would like to vote on during the primary. Also, if those Independent voters would like to vote in the Democratic primary one year and the Republican primary the next, or vice versa, my legislation would give them that choice."

Read more about the independent movement in Pennsylvania at Independent Pennsylvanians

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS 7/20/10

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Research desk responds: How partisan are 'independent' voters? (By Dylan Matthews, Washington Post/Ezra Klein) Political scientists Donald Green and Alan Gerber found that phonebanking and door-to-door canvassing have a statistically significant effect on voter turnout. They're expensive -- $29 and $38 per vote, respectively -- but they can work. Campaigns, then, can choose whether to spend more resources turning out their base in this way, or to try to gain the support of the few pure independent voters who could be swayed by more centrist policies.
• Election 2010: Board of Elections invalidates Baltimore City independent voters (Baltimore Campaign Finance Examiner, Chet Dembeck) Board of Elections told independent voters that the party had been invalidated and that they would have just two weeks to change their "independent" affiliation to Democrat or Republican -- otherwise the state would automatically designate them as "unaffiliated."
• Maryland invalidates independent voters (By J. Taylor Rushing, The Hill/Ballot Box)

GALLUP POLL

• Democrats Jump Into Six-Point Lead on Generic Ballot (by Lydia Saad, Gallup)
• Democrats retake lead in generic ballot (Chris Cillizza, EXCERPT Washington Post/The Fix) The reason for Democrats' upward movement in the poll appears to be independent voters where Republicans now hold a four point generic edge (43 percent to 39 percent), a major drop from Gallup polling earlier this month that showed the GOP with a 14-point margin.
• Dems Gain Generic Edge After Reform Bill (By Reid Wilson, National Journal/Hotline)
• Democrats take generic ballot lead (By ANDY BARR, Politico)
• Gallup: Dems Take 6-Point Lead In Generic Ballot (By Kyle Trygstad, RealClearPolitics)
• Generic Congressional Ballot: Republicans 45%, Democrats 36% (Rasmussen Reports)

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Open primaries antithetical to a political party system (Delaware News Journal)
• IL: OUR VIEW: Open primary a good step (EDITORIAL The Journal-Standard)
• IL: Editorial: Open to the idea of primary change (Jacksonville Journal Courier)

GEORGIA

• In Georgia, Dems and Reps use the law to suppress competition (Jay Bookkan, Atlanta Journal Constitution)
• Check out GeorgiaIndependentVoters.org

KENTUCKY

• Independent Jackie Green displeased with lack of Louisville mayoral debate invitations (By Dan Klepal, Louisville Courier-Journal)
• Check out Independent Kentucky here

PENNSYLVANIA

• Independents crucial to Dems' election prospects (By LIZ SIDOTI (AP) Stephen Bouikidis, a founder of the grass-roots organization Independent Pennsylvanians, says it's unfulfilled promises of bipartisanship that influence the state's 1 million independents. "We are very interested in candidates who want to reform. But what we won't respond to is partisanship," he says.
• NOTE: This story was picked up by CBS News, Huffington Post, The Examiner, US News & World Report, and msnbc.comhttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38306714/ns/politics-decision_2010  ....
• Check out Independent Pennsylvanians here

NEW YORK

• New anti-Dem group would mean business (Fredric U. Dicker, EXCLUSIVE, NY Post) Democrats took control of the Senate last year with strong backing from the WFP, but hold only a one-vote majority. Whoever controls the Senate next year will play a key role in overseeing legislative redistricting, and Senate President Malcolm Smith (D-Queens) has vowed to redraw the district lines to wipe out the GOP.
• Will party's support be liability? - Republicans look to tie Democrats to Working Families Party's woes (By RICK KARLIN, Capitol bureau, Albany Times Union)

NYC CHARTER REVISION

• Panel Mulls Pros, Cons Of Partisan Primaries (By: Grace Rauh, NY1) "A million five New Yorkers are disenfranchised from voting in the most decisive elections that affect them and their representative government," said Dick Dadey of Citizens Union.
• Call To Charter Commission: Do More (By Jarrett Murphy, City Limits)
• John Avlon to Charter Revision Commission: Yes on Top Two Open Primary for NYC - VIDEO
• Dick Dadey, Citizens Union: Yes on Top Two Open Primary for NYC - VIDEO

Pennsylvania Post-Primary Advice: Candidates in mid-term elections take note: Independents are Watching You!

With the much discussed and highly contested PA primaries now over, talk among political pundits has quickly turned to the mid-term elections for US Senate and Governor. One thing that these “experts” seem to agree on, and very rightly so, is that independent voters, now nationally more than 40% of the electorate, will play a monumental part in deciding the outcome of the mid-terms. However, when asked to paint a picture of what independent voters want, who they are, and specifically how they will influence the elections, these same pundits come up surprisingly empty.

This lack of insight highlights the entrenched bipartisanship that exists not only in our political system, but in our political discourse. Independent voters are diverse in background and hold views that range across the political spectrum. This does not mean, however, as often characterized, that these voters are a nebulous bunch, unworthy of serious consideration. A far from nebulous fact offered by Stephen Bouikidis of Independent Pennsylvanians, “Independents have voiced deep concern about the breakdown of our political system. The candidates that seriously address this concern are the candidates that will come out ahead in the upcoming elections.”

Independent voters are passionately interested in increased inclusion in the electoral process. This can be seen nationally, from the passing of Proposition 14 (top two primaries act) in California this week, to the groundswell of support that Pennsylvanians have given to the Open Primaries bill ( HB 1672) introduced by Rep. Depasquale of York, PA. The bill would allow the over one million Independent voters of PA to participate in the crucial first rounds of elections, making our electoral process truly democratic and fair for all voters. This piece of legislation has already received close to 2000 signatures of support from across the state. Many voters voiced their outrage on primary day, “I’m sick and tired of not being able to vote, why are independents always silenced?” commented one voter on Independent Pennsylvanians website, http://www.facebook.com/l/82074; www.IndependentPA.org.

“Inclusiveness is needed now more than ever, when it is clear that bipartisanship has a strangle-hold on our government,” Bouikidis adds. Independents will be watching closely to see which candidates come out in favor of bill HB 1672 and other democratic reforms that include all voters.

Independent Pennsylvanians (IP) is an activist organization supporting progressive, non-partisan political reforms and is an affiliate of http://www.facebook.com/l/82074;IndependentVoting.org, a national strategy, communications and organizing center. Representatives from IP are available for commentary and views regarding the independent voter. 

Contact:

Jennifer Bullock
Independent Pennsylvanians
245 S. 16th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102
215-957-5073
IndependentPA@gmail.com
http://www.facebook.com/l/82074

www.IndependentPA.org 

Arlen Spector Defeated in Pennsylvania -- Where are the independents?

Rep. Joe Sestak led Sen. Arlen Specter 52-48 percent in the Democratic Senate primary as of 10:11 p.m, with 61 percent reporting. The Associated Press and other outlets called the Republican primary for Toomey, who led activist and perennial candidate Peg Luksik 79-21 percent. Meanwhile, Democrat Mark Critz led Republican Tim Burns 56-42 percent in the special election to replace the late Rep. John Murtha (D), with 30 percent reporting.

Have to wonder about Arlen Specter's roots in the independent movement in PA...

I'm an Independent Voter - Can I Vote in Tuesday's Primary in Arkansas, Kentucky or Pennsylvania ?

Tomorrow May 18, 2010, is primary day in some key states for independent voters: Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Arkansas. Lots of media including this one from Liz Halloran at NPR talking about the anti-incumbent mood in the country.

Pennsylvania primaries (thanks to FairVote for these definitions)  are closed (winners in 2008 2343 Clinton, McCain in the primary; November: Obama), meaning that only registered Dems or Repubs can vote in that party's primary. If you're an independent, you're flat outa luck. See Independent Pennsylvanians for redress!

Kentucky (Closed primaries: Clinton, McCain in primaries 2008; November: McCain) Voters of any affiliation may vote for the slate of any party (which seems to mean that independents can vote but can only vote in the party primary that they choose for that election, according to FairVote.) You might want to contact at Michael Lewis on Facebook or at Independent Kentucky.

Arkansas primaries are open except for runoff elections. Voters went for Clinton and Huckabee in the primary and for McCain in the general in 2008. (Little known fact: Arkansas is the birth state of The Hankster...)

See the Open Primaries page on The Hankster for resources!

Tiresome Two-Party System, Open Primaries and Unholy Alliances

Our two-party system creates a point-counterpoint tiresome spin cycle, says Bonnie Erbe on the Thomas Jefferson Street blog. She likes multi-party democracy but doesn't see any quick path to that result. Rep. Eugene DePasquale, D-York, with support from Pennsylvania Independents, has introduced an open primary bill into the PA legislature. Some conservative anti-Proposition 14 California Repubs think the multi-party opposition to the Prop 14 open primary initiative is an "unholy alliance". Maybe these forces think ANY alliance is unholy by definition? You might notice that The Hankster occasionally covers the Tea Party, but hardly ever the Coffee Party. The reason for that is that The Hankster covers the media that covers the independent movement and the MSM associates independents with the conservative Tea Party movement, but not the Coffee Party. However, I've got my eye out for welcome signs from the progressive Coffee Party to independents.... Meanwhile, some gays want a separate nation-state.


INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Can Voters Change the Two-Party, Democrat-Republican System? (Bonnie Erbe, US News & World Report/Thomas Jefferson Street blog)
• Voters in Yuma County feeling independent too (BY TERRY ROSS - NEWS AND INFORMATION CENTER DIRECTOR, Yuma Sun - AZ)

OPEN PRIMARIES

• PA: 1 million voters left out in primary (By Brad Bumsted, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW) "We pay taxes, and we can't participate," said Stephen Bouikidis, a software company executive from Jenkintown in Montgomery County, who is a founder of Independent Pennsylvanians, a group advocating open primaries. "This is the biggest issue for us. We're locked out of the system."
• PA: Editorial: Pennsylvania primaries should be opened (Chambersburg PA Public Opinion Online)
• FL: Reform the primaries and untie our hands (Mary Ann Lindley, Editorial Page Editor, Tallahassee Democrat) To vote for whom you like in this state, you have to be more cunning than party organizations that hold more power than any individual candidate, that hold the purse strings, that call the shots and that are so good at this manipulation that politics has become more like the NFL than representative government. Too many voters are left sitting on the bench.
• OH: Officials talk directive (By MIKE BURKHOLDER, Managing Editor, The Evening Leader - OH) "Failure to enforce the challenge statutes essentially changes the nature of the primary into an unconstitutional open primary," Ortega said.

PROP 14

• Open primaries, better government (Daily Breeze - LA) The unlikely bipartisan coalition of opponents to Proposition 14, the "top-two" open primary initiative on the June 8 ballot, tells us a lot about who's worried about their power.
• Reader Rebuttal: Jeannie English: Proposition 14 (By JEANNINE ENGLISH, President, AARP California, Co-Chair of Californians for an Open Primary, OC Register)
• LOCAL VIEW: Prop. 14 will shutter political process (North County Times) Unfortunately, the opposite is true. Prop. 14 would, in fact, abrogate primaries and replace them with two general elections, causing the effective disappearance of all minor parties from the November election. No surprise, then, that an unholy alliance of the California Democratic and Republican parties, the Libertarian Party and the ACLU all forcefully oppose it.
• The Buzz: More than 650 candidates running in June 8 primary (Sac Bee)

TEA PARTY

• State GOP doing aggressive outreach with Tea Party movement (by Betsy Sundquist, Politics In Minnesota blog)

LAST WORD

• Graham Elected President of FIGS, International Gay Independence Party Grows; Launching Int’l Gay News Network Part of Platform (Street Insider PRESS RELEASE) Members are known to one another as “Figgies” and advocate for a politically autonomous Gay Nation-State and stress their demands for Gay independence.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

OPEN PRIMARIES

• OR: Measure opens Ore. primaries to all voters (KTVZ Central Oregon)
• PA: Bill Would Let Independents Vote In The State Primaries (The Bulletin)

CAMPAIGN

• Independents split evenly between Obama and McCain (Associated Press) A recent Associated Press-GfK Poll showed them divided about evenly, 44 percent for Obama and 41 percent for McCain.
• Obama has four-point lead on McCain (Reuters) Zogby said that while Obama still had a 17-point lead among independent voters, this was down from 21 points on Sunday and showed that some independents remain to be persuaded.
• Race For the White House: Independents grow in numbers, clout (Omaha WORLD-HERALD) Since the 2004 presidential election, the Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District has become less Republican and more independent.
• Graham: Obama Is Not A Centrist (CBS Face the Nation) Gov. Bill Ritter, D-Colo., said that the election "is going to be decided by independent voters, and independent voters care about the economy."
• In this race, all roads lead to Ohio (Lexington KY Herald Leader) Ohio doesn’t track voter registration numbers for each party because it has an open primary system in which people show up at the polls and choose which party’s primary to vote in.

THIRD PARTIES
Associated Press Story on McCain Endorsement by Reform Party is Misleading (Ballot Access News) None of the ballot-qualified Reform Parties have any connection with the meeting in Hicksville, New York, that endorsed McCain. Nevertheless, the Associated Press naively reported that “The” Reform Party had endorsed McCain.

NYC MAYOR MIKE AND TERM LIMITS
Christine Quinn is gambling for her political life (NY Daily News/Daily Politics) "She wants to stay in office, the Council wants to stay in office and the mayor wants to stay in office - after that, all bets are off," said political consultant Hank Sheinkopf. "It's a risky gamble for everyone."

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS
Independent Pennsylvanians invites activists to attend press conference (Austin Cassidy's Independent Political Report)

TERM LIMITS/BLOOMBERG

• Fulani on term limits (NY Daily News/Daily Politics) “Mr. Bloomberg has the right to change his mind on this issue. I happen to be a supporter of democracy reform and the people making those decisions. So I think he’s going to have to respond to the people of this city,” she said.
• Bloomberg once called change to term limits a 'disgrace' (Newsday)
• Bloomberg wants 3rd term as New York mayor (Seattle Times)
• Proponent of Limits Reverses His Stand (NY Times)
• Elsewhere: Bloomberg's Gamble, Hope on Capitol Hill (NY Observer) Dan Jacoby supports Bloomberg and opposes term limits, but he opposes Bloomberg overturning them the most. Lenora Fulani, who helped Bloomberg get elected, feels more or less the same way.
• The Real Bloomberg Story (Talk Talk independentvoting.org) Newman: That's right. Now, what is that story? It's the story of how 59,000 votes on the Independence Party line in 2001 made him mayor of New York City. Salit: It's the story of how he had to turn to the independents to give him his margin of victory.

OPEN PRIMARIES/MEASURE 65

• Measure 65 seeks to open primaries (John Sowell, News Review Today)
• Measure 65 forum (Bend Bulletin) Tonight at 7pm in Redmond

CAMPAIGN

• New poll shows Obama ahead in Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania (Cleveland Plain Dealer) Independent voters go 46 percent for Obama and 42 percent for McCain, compared to 47 - 43 percent for McCain September 11.
• Stephanopoulos: Independent Voters Hold White House Key (ABC News/Political Radar)

THIRD PARTIES
Third-party presidential candidates to debate at Vanderbilt on Oct. 6 (Vanderbilt myVU)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

CAMPAIGN * PA: Today, voters in Pa. will have their say (Philadelphia Inquirer) Obama ground organization: The most unusual touch will be criers boarding SEPTA buses and giving riders a brief pitch and some Obama literature.

WEST VIRGINIA

• Today is last day to register for primary (Bluefield Daily Telegraph) For the first time, independent voters and voters who marked “no party affiliation” on their voter registration form will be able to vote in the Republican or the Democrat or the Mountain Party’s primary on May 13.
• Dems seek independent voters (Parkersburg News and Sentinel) Since the 2006 elections, roughly 18,600 people have registered as independents, double the number of new Democrats and triple the number of new Republicans.
• Today is last day to register for primary (Charleston Daily Mail) Unaffiliated voters have increased by 19 percent since November 2006, and now make up more than 13 percent of all registered voters.

NORTH CAROLINA * Conflict resolved, gubernatorial debate is go (News Observer) So far, 36,011 registered Democrats have voted early, as have 1,741 registered Republicans and 9,794 unaffiliated voters.

ALASKA * Anchorage Mayor Enters Alaska Senate Race (CQ Politics) Alaskans typically vote Republican, but candidates in Alaska also must appeal to unaffiliated voters and third-party supporters who make up 60 percent of the registration rolls.

Iraq Death Toll: It's a Partisan War. And - War is not the answer....

Fortunately or unfortunately we have a good 5 or 6 weeks until the next party primary (Pennslyvania is a closed primary state. Independent voters have to do as best as they can. For example, folks in Ambler protested the US Iraq war as noted here in the Ambler Gazette.... Rain was "pouring down" March 19, 2003, as Mike Corrie of Glenside stood on Route 611 in Jenkintown with a sign that said, "War is not the answer.") Of note: Sen. Obama leads Sen. Clinton 1,621 to 1,499 in the overall delegate tally, according to the Associated Press; 2,024 are needed to win the nomination. (Wall Street Journal)

The key factor is where independent voters stand. Pew found that almost half of them now favor keeping U.S. troops in Iraq, versus a rapid withdrawal). (US News & World Report)

And so that goes a long ways in explaining why PA Gov Casey endoresed Barack Obama today, as reported in Forbes, and forcast in the New York Times: Obama Picks Up Key Pennsylvania Endorsement from Sen. Casey Senator Bob Casey Jr., the junior senator from Pennsylvania, endorsed Barack Obama today in Pittsburgh. Casey, who defeated Republican incumbent Rick Santorum in 2006, is the son of former governor Bob Casey Sr., who served as Pennsylvania’s top executive from 1987 to 1995. Like his father, Casey is liberal on economic issues but socially conservative. His pro-life stance differs notably from Senator Obama’s pro-choice position.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Clinton Stakes Claim To 'Electability' (Forbes) The party has a self-sabotaging affinity for "identity politics," which is anathema to U.S. moderate and independent voters.
• Crist: DNC should accept Florida delegates (Tallahassee Democrat) advocates for quick "do-over" mailed balloting — or risk losing independent swing voters in November.
• Counties see spike in party registration before primary (Standard Speaker - Hazelton PA) “It’s akin to taxation without representation,” Stephen Bouikidis, chairman of Independent Pennsylvanians
• Independent vote might benefit Barack Obama (Rapid City Journal - ND)
• Did Republicans give Hillary her victory in Ohio? (The Free Press) Likely shift of independents to Democratic candidate in general election
• Obama wins in Wyoming, adds 7 delegates (Kansas City Star) Plouffe cites independents