Arizona Open Elections-Open Government Campaign Set for Open Primaries Ballot Initiative

Breaking news: Arizona Open Elections-Open Government campaign pulls 280,000 signatures for open primary ballot initiative!

How open primaries would affect elections in Arizona (by David R. Berman, Arizona Republic) With registered independent voters in Arizona already outnumbering registered Democrats and soon to surpass the roster of registered Republicans, have political-party primaries outlived their usefulness? And is it time for Arizona to begin electing local, statewide and federal officeholders in a nonpartisan manner to reflect the more moderate views of the general population?
Breaking Good News: Open Elections-Open Government campaign surpasses minimum number of signatures to qualify! (by Dee Dee Garcia Blase, Tucson Citizen/Hispanic Politico) With the signatures of over 280,000 Arizona voters in hand, leaders of a ballot initiative campaign that would reform Arizona’s election process by opening it up to more voters and more candidates today announced they have surpassed the minimum number of signatures required to place the measure on the November ballot.
Voter registration up for Tuesday's primary (By John Howard, Capitol Weekly) Nearly three out of four eligible voters in California have registered to cast ballots in Tuesday’s election, and fully a fifth of the electorate has declined to state a party preference, according to the state’s elections officer. About 1.4 million more Californians are registered now than in February 2008, the year of the last presidential primary election.
California's minor parties facing extinction under new voting system (By Josh Richman, Contra Costa Times) Election-reform advocate Steven Hill, co-founder of the nonprofit FairVote, said losing minor parties would result in an ever-narrowing political discourse. "Minor parties tend to be the laboratories for new ideas. They bring issues and ideas into the political discussion that the major parties often ignore," he said. "That's the first thing you're going to lose, and it's a fairly big loss.

Independent Voters' Influence Growing

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• UPDATED: First of Its Kind Independent Online Preference OPEN NOW (by Matt Metzner, IVN) The online Independent Preference Survey is a follow up to Proposition 14 that passed in 2010. Proposition 14 created an Open Primary where all voters, regardless of party, elect the top-two candidates who face off in the November general election… IVP was the author of Proposition 14 and focuses their efforts on educating non-partisan voters on their rights in elections.
• Warren Beating Brown Would Send First Woman to Senate (By Esme E. Deprez, Bloomberg) According to the Secretary of State’s office, 51 percent of the electorate isn’t registered with either party. An analysis by Tim Vercellotti, who directs the Western New England University Polling Institute in Springfield, found that self- identified independents are split almost evenly between men and women, 49 percent to 51 percent. While more recent surveys by other pollsters show a tighter race, Vercellotti’s last poll, conducted Feb. 23 to March 1, found Brown leading Warren among all voters 49 percent to 41 percent. Independent voters overall and independent women favored Brown 2 to 1.
• Independent voters will be key in Walker recall (Eric Lindquist, Eau Claire Leader-Telegram) A recent Marquette University Law School poll found that the Walker-Barrett race is a virtual tie. Peterson said the outcome may come down to which candidate can persuade the shrinking pool of independent and undecided voters — the latest polls show Walker and Barrett both have support from just under half of eligible voters — that their approach is best.

Third Party Longings, Independent Candidates, and Political Reform

Buddy Roemer Eyes Presidency - NPR interview on his main focus - campaign finance and the corrupting power of money in politics. Roemer is seeking the Americans Elect line.

The Atlantic: America has not seen a long-lasting national third-party movement in its history, and it won't be seeing one now. [Hey guys, what about the Republican Party?]

Rapid City MI: She said people she encountered on the campaign trail told her they were “sick of party politics,” leading her to switch to an independent run.

Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher announced today that he is dropping his Republican party preference and running as an independent for Mayor in San Diego.

The Proposition 14 experiment in political engineering is debuting this election season. The constitutional amendment, approved by voters in 2010, transforms June primaries, traditionally partisan affairs of the heart, into brainy contests that tap the top two contestants, regardless of party, to square off in November.

NY Times Invitation to Dialogue: Time for a Third Party?

THIRD PARTY

• Invitation to a Dialogue: Time for a Third Party? (LETTER NY Times) A centrist third party could prosper in today’s political environment and end the stalemate in Washington. There is a large body of moderate Republicans, disaffected Democrats and dissatisfied independents looking for the kind of political home that this party could provide.
• Is California Ready for a Third Party? (By Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, NBC Southern California) The implementation of California’s new “top-two” primary could allow an early test. Will candidates filing for legislative and Congressional offices choose to list Americans Elect as their “party preference” on the ballot?” Can these candidates, unlike those of California’s long-established third parties, overcome the major parties’ massive registration edge and make it into the November run-off?
• Third Party Hazy as California Smog (By Larry Gerston, NBC Southern California) The unfortunate aspect of this charade is that someone will actually appear as a candidate in states where the "party" has qualified--someone who has not gone through the public vetting process known as primaries and caucuses. In a state with a closely fought race, that person could get enough votes to sway the outcome one way or another.

CA Prop 14 Under Attack From Third Parties

SOUTH CAROLINA PRIMARY
South Carolina Supreme Court turns back challenge to presidential primary (By Jim Davenport, Associated Press, Augusta Chronicle) Election officials in Beau­fort, Chester, Greenville and Spartanburg counties said county taxpayers would be left with more than $1 million in costs the state wouldn’t cover for the Jan. 21 contest.

PROP 14

• Lawsuit: Prop. 14 violates California minor party voters' rights (Sac Bee/ Capitol Alert) "By limiting access to the general election ballot, Prop. 14 effectively bars small political parties, their candidates, and their members from effective political association, precisely at the moment when the highest number of voters are engaged in the electoral process," the complaint reads.
• Proposition 14 Lawsuit (VIDEO, KCRA Channel 3) with CT Weber, Chair, Peace & Freedom Party
• Open primaries: 3rd-party backers sue over law (Marisa Lagos, San Francisco Chronicle) "This is really a lawsuit about keeping the field of political debate open," said attorney Michael Siegel. "Proposition 14 narrows the political debate by saying only two candidates can participate in general elections, and we think that's unconstitutional because many Supreme Court cases have said you can't have a barrier to small parties competing in the general election."

Partisan Reactions to California Top Two Continue

CALIFORNIA TOP TWO

• California State Appeals Court Hears Arguments over Injunctive Relief in Top-Two Details Lawsuit (Ballot Access News) On September 7, the California Court of Appeals in San Francisco heard arguments in Field v Bowen. The issue is two particular aspects of the California top-two system (Proposition 14), and whether the Superior Court should have granted injunctive relief in a special election earlier this year.
• Lawmaker-residency bill dropped until 2012 (LA Times/PolitiCal) Jones said the bill was being held until 2012 in connection with other provisions in the measure that apply to California's new "open primary" system, which allows the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, to advance to the general election.
• California Legislative Analysis Shows Election Administration-Related Problems Caused by Prop. 14 (Ballot Access News) The analysis also says, “This bill shortens the format in which a candidate’s party preference is displayed on the ballot, shortens and clarifies the ballot instructions that appear on the ballot, and eliminates certain type size and typeface requirements to give county elections officials greater flexibility to format their ballots. These changes should help address some of the concerns raised by elections officials in this committee’s oversight hearing.”
• California push to change candidate residency laws scrapped (Sac Bee/Capitol Alert, Torey Van Oot) The current language for Assembly Bill 1413 was inserted into an existing bill just one week ahead of the scheduled end of the legislative session. But the effort was abandoned today, just hours after a scheduled hearing on the bill has been postponed, as supporters decided to hold off on action until next year.

Political Parties Attempt to Undermine Top Two Election Reform in California

CALIFORNIA TOP TWO

• Dan Walters: Fun, games mark California Legislature's final week (By Dan Walters, Sac Bee) • There's an 11th-hour flurry of efforts to alter election rules, including a still-unwritten bill sought by Democrats and unions to make all initiative measures go on the November ballot, and a newly written bill that would effectively end write-in votes for state offices, thus settling a legal issue over the impact of Proposition 14, the new "top-two" primary election system.
• California State Senate to Vote on Abolishing Write-in Space on General Election Ballots on Wednesday, September 7 (Ballot Access News) The California Senate will vote on Wednesday, September 7, on AB 1413. The bill abolishes write-in space on California general election ballots for Congress and state office.
• Political parties attempt to undermine open primary election reform in California (by Chad Peace, CAIVN) In an attempt to blunt the upcoming top-two open primary's ability to limit political party control over elections in California, the state Assembly is trying to change the way a candidate's political party appears on the ballot. Proposition 14, passed by the voters in 2010, changed the primary system to consolidate all of the candidates onto one ballot, with the top two vote getters advancing to the general election. Candidates are only required to list their party preference, allowing Independents to run with the ballot designation "no party preference." AB 1413 aims to undermine the reforms by changing "party preference" to "party affiliation," interjecting political party influence back into open primaries.

Cure for Partisanship: Less Reality, More Artificiality

Note to Stuart Rotherberg: " The reality of our current politics of division and partisanship is not what many would prefer, but at least it is real." At least it's real?? With a reality like this, maybe we should try more artificiality. At least THAT we could live with!

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Political Unity Peaked After Attacks (By Stuart Rothenberg, Roll Call) There are possible institutional changes that could produce more centrist elected officials — more open primaries, more states using commissions to draw Congressional and legislative district lines, a third political party in the center, for example — but those changes are difficult to bring about, and it isn’t clear how much change each proposal would produce. The reality of our current politics of division and partisanship is not what many would prefer, but at least it is real. Those periods after 9/11 and after Giffords’ near-fatal attack, when Americans focused on self-reflection and healing, were aberrations. Both tragedies created artificial moments of when important public policy questions were put aside.
• State Senate set to ban general election write-in voting (by Damon Eris, CAIVN) Today, the State Senate is scheduled to vote on AB 1413, a bill that would address this inconsistency by banning all write-in candidates from the general election ballot for voter-nominated offices and removing the space for write-in votes from the those ballots.  The bill under consideration in the Senate is substantially different from the one that was initially  proposed in the Assembly and passed through committee.  AB 1413 was introduced into the legislature on March 14th by the chair of the Assembly's Committee on Elections and Redistricting, Paul Fong.
• Parties active in nonpartisan election - Turnout could be higher from efforts by Republicans and Democrats. (BY ANDREW KENNEY, The Cary News - NC) On Election Day municipal candidates won't be identified with the political parties that dominate state and national races, but party volunteers standing just outside the polls will make sure voters know who's who.
  

California Independents Took Matters Into Their Own Hands with Props 14 and 20

OPEN PRIMARIES
Political change starts with moderates (LETTER San Diego Union Tribune) The independent and moderate voters in California took matters into their own hands during the last general election and passed Proposition 14, which allows independents to vote for any candidate during the primary election. Proposition 20, which will replace the current gerrymandered district boundaries so incumbents are no longer guaranteed re-election, was also passed.

California Independents Set to Influence Tuesday Open Primary

FRED NEWMAN
Fred Newman, Controversial Political Activist And Philosopher, Dies At 76 (Gothamist) According to his website, "Fred Newman is the public philosopher who for 30 years has translated the most progressive ideals of the 1960s into effective instruments of social and personal transformation," but the NY Times' obituary sums it up more elegantly: "Fred Newman’s influential role in New York life and politics defied easy description."

OPEN PRIMARIES

• `Jungle' primary sets up close 36th District race Tuesday (By Eric Bradley, DAILY BREEZE) Democrats hold an 18 percentage-point registration advantage over Republicans in the coastal South Bay district. However, a quarter of voters decline to state a party preference, and low turnout - 16 percent of voters cast a ballot in May - is expected to play a large role in whether Republicans can pull off an upset.
• GOP looks for upset in race for Calif. House seat (By MICHAEL R. BLOOD, AP) One unknown is the role of independent voters, who account for 22 percent of the district's electorate. Statewide, voters who decline to state a party preference typically side slightly more with Democrats than Republicans, but also tend to be unpredictable and more fiscally conservative than typical Democrats.
• 'Madness Abounds' as Fake Candidates Confuse Wisconsin Recalls (San Francisco Chronicle) The primaries are the opening skirmish in a state at political war. The six districts in tomorrow's races have Republicans running as Democrats, hoping to win the nomination and effectively render the Aug. 9 recall votes meaningless.

NEW YORK
Independence Party backs Democrat for Weiner's former seat (AM New York) “We’ve worked with him before and we think he’ll be a wonderful candidate,” party Chairman Frank MacKay said yesterday of Weprin, a Queens assemblyman.

California Top Two Open Primary: Now You're in a New World!

California's first top two open primary results (and lest we forget, the activity and the hard-fought grassroots movement that spoke to our national increasingly independent political dismay over the past 15 years, the people who gathered thousands upon thousands of signatures to get on the ballot and engineered a win by referendum (California Proposition 14) in a partisan primary in the state of California, to allow independents to vote in primaries -- INDEED, let's try to be straight here -- to include all voters and attempt to do away with partisan primaries and party privilege altogether, AND which WON at the ballot box in June 2010, has now seen its first practical results last week.

And not surprisingly, made some select headlines this week, notably: "Now you're in a new world..." and "leading the people in the purple T-shirts to push the Republican Party to the middle..." Note to Dan Morain and Ben Tulchin -- good luck gaming Top Two for Dems, Repubs and ideologues (aka "moderates"...)

Word to the wise:  Talk with some independents who are building the real on-the-ground movement of serious political independents who don't so much cotton to "moving" any political party anywhere. That's a partisan fantasy. We're looking to take over the political means of production. We're talking to each other and making plans. We're grassroots and gathering numbers, strategy, strength and, frankly, a national moral high ground. Pay attention! Look!


CALIFORNIA TOP TWO OPEN PRIMARY

• Analysis: Brown returns to inside game of wooing Republicans (By Steven Harmon, Contra Costa Times) "There might be some protection money to protect a moderate vote," said Ben Tulchin, a Democratic pollster. "Before, with a closed primary in a conservative district, you couldn't do anything to dislodge them. But you're in a new world now. We'll have new districts and with open primaries, the threat from the right is smaller ---- you won't get taken out in a primary. If you're a moderate, you'll have a better chance of winning."
• Dan Morain: SEIU leader wants to prod GOP to the center (By Dan Morain, Sac Bee) Although the 2012 primary is a year away, Kieffer is focusing on new open primary rules, understanding that the system can be gamed in ways that could force conservatives into losing fights with moderates... For 20 years, the SEIU has played almost exclusively in Democratic politics. More than any other interest group, the union drove the party hard to the left. Now Kieffer is leading the people in the purple T-shirts to push the Republican Party to the middle, understanding, as he does, purple is a combination of red and blue, the colors of the two parties.

And in the meantime, below is the usual negative commentary from Richard Winger's anti-Top Two campaign which he promotes on his otherwise excellent round-up of practical, legislative and media sources that might fuel a movement to turn the country around and open up the political system... Too bad...

• Commentary on California’s Experience with “Top-Two” in Recent Congressional Election (Ballot Access News) SEE following 3 articles linked to BAN
• California’s Open Primary: An Open Can of Worms? (BILL WHALEN, Advancing a Free Society, Hoover Institution/Stanford University) Judging by the results, Californians might want to take a mulligan on last year’s Prop 14 vote. In a district where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by 18%, the surprise outcome was a July runoff between . . . a Democrat and a Republican. Not a principled Democrat who ran on health care or foreign policy, mind you, but one whose strategy was to purposely dilute the progressive vote. As for the Republican, he’s a little-known advertising exec whose stem-the-tidal-wave-of-red-ink ad was music to the Tea Partiers’ ears: two kids at a lemonade stand, getting socked by a $427,000 tax bill (each kid’s share of the $14 trillion national debt). In other words, a runoff between two pols not to be mistaken for a couple of holier-than-thou moderates.
• Open primary in CA: adios, democracy (T.A. Barnhart, Blue Oregon) I have been unstinting in my criticism of “open primaries”. I voted against a Portland School District candidate because he had been endorsed by Phil Kiesling, who keeps trying to flog this anti-democratic idea in Portland. I have argued against “open primaries” (which can take various forms but all have the same outcomes) for two reasons: political parties should be free to select their nominees for public office without intrusion from non-members, and small “third” parties will be obliterated./
• Legal case against Top Two Primaries, Proposition 14 and SB 6 - Richard Winger and Gautam Dutta (Green Party of California co-spokesperson Michael Feinstein YouTube Channel)

UTAH OPEN PRIMARY VS. CAUCUS
OUR VIEW: Voters should choose candidates (By Standard-Examiner Editorial Board) Utah's political parties should move to a primary system to select candidates for office. A state convention that allows a tiny percentage of party members to select candidates is exclusionary. An open primary winner would better represent the values and beliefs of the voters he represents.

ARIZONA OPEN PRIMARY
Arizona's political center yet to find a voice (DAILY SUN EDITORIAL BOARD) In other words, at least two-thirds of the lawmakers in the next session are likely to come from districts where the outcome is not only decided in the primary but decided in favor of a party ideologue -- moderate candidates just can't seem to turn out enough supporters in August to finish any better than second. That's why we continue to push for an open primary for all parties, with the top two finishers going on to the general election in November. That way, the second-place finisher in a primary in a lopsided district -- the norm in Arizona -- at least gets a chance to appeal to a broader electorate not once but twice -- in the primary and the general election.

NEW YORK

• NY-26: At T - 3 Days, Poll Says Hochul Leads (BY CELESTE KATZ, Daily News/Daily Politics) Siena: "Viewed more favorably than Corwin or independent Jack Davis, Hochul has moved  from trailing Corwin by five points, 36 to 31% in Siena’s April 29 poll to having a lead three days  before the election. Davis has dropped as the choice of likely voters from 23 to only 12%." Green Party candidate Ian Murphy registers 1% support, with 7% of respondents undecided.
• Analysis: Gay marriage in NY hits stumbling blocks (by Michael Gormley, AP, Seattle Post Intelligencer) Frank MacKay, the influential chairman of the state Independence Party, told The Associated Press last week that he personally supports gay marriage. He noted the state's third largest party opposes "discrimination and prejudice in all its myriad forms." That could counter pressure from state Conservative Party Chairman Michael Long, who said lawmakers voting for gay marriage won't carry his line.

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.

Historic California Top Two Primary Day

CALIFORNIA TOP TWO PRIMARY DAY

• Light turnout expected in election for vacant US House seat in Southern Calif.'s 36th District (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. Daily Journal) The race also is notable because it is the first congressional test of California's new open primary system for electing lawmakers. Voters, regardless of registration, can select candidates from any party, and if no one clears 50 percent to win outright, the top two vote-getters advance to a runoff, even if they are from the same party.
• Historic election arrives (By Eric Bradley, LA Daily Breeze) Passed by voters last June, Proposition 14 created the "jungle primary" - where all candidates appear on a single ballot. The change is aimed at reducing partisanship and ensuring that general elections are less perfunctory. If no candidate wins a majority, then the top two, regardless of party affiliation, advance to a runoff, set for July 12.

The End of Partisan Primaries: California Special Election May 17 Will Use Top-Two

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Dems have money to spend as jungle primary looms in California (By Sean J. Miller, The Hill/Ballot Box) The top-two vote-getters will advance out of the open primary to the general election on July 12. But if a candidate breaks 50 percent of the vote in the primary, he or she will win the special election outright.
• California Democratic gathering offers chance to celebrate, and challenges too (By Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times) The party holds the power in the Capitol, but that hasn't yet led to solving major problems. Key issues at the convention will be the 2012 elections and Proposition 14, which ended partisan primaries.

Independent Voters, 2012, and Party Insiders

INDEPENDENT VOTERS
GOP leaders likely to drop social issues in budget compromise (BY DAVID LIGHTMAN, Miami Herald) "There's a Republican economic agenda, and there's a social agenda. The problem for the party is that independents by and large do not share the social agenda," said Steven Smith, the director of the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government and Public Policy at Washington University in St. Louis.

PARTY INSIDERS V. PROP 14
Race for Congress: No Candidate Gains California Democratic Party Endorsement - None of the Democratic candidates in the upcoming election for a vacant seat in Congress are going to be officially endorsed by the California Democratic Party. (By Paul Chavez, Hermosa Beach Patch)

2012
Jon Huntsman, the rock 'n' roll years (By: Ben Smith and Kasie Hunt, Politico) Huntsman’s conventional ascent began in 1987, when he graduated from the Wharton School of Business, went to work for the family manufacturing giant, and moved between top industry and government posts. People who know him, however, say his unconventional appeal was crafted in the nine previous years, beginning in 1978, the year he left Highland High School without enough credits to graduate.

NEW YORK
Mike's maneuvers fail in Albany, NYC (By ERIK ENGQUIST and JEREMY SMERD, Crain's New York) The state budget that passed last week contained nothing from his wish list: no changes to the teacher seniority rule known as last-in, first-out; no relief from the $600 million “Christmas bonuses” that the city must pay retired police officers and firefighters annually; and not a dime of the city's former $300 million state revenue-sharing allocation, for the second straight year.

NORTH CAROLINA
GOP must balance agenda with desire to win re-election (By Paul Woolverton, Fayyetteville Observer) Out of North Carolina's 6 million registered voters, 2.7 million are Democrats - or 45 percent. About 1.9 million voters are Republican. And 1.45 million belong to no party. That means roughly 25 percent of the voters are unaffiliated.

Idaho: Disenfranchising voters is never a good thing.

IDAHO - TIME FOR "TOP TWO" PRIMARY
Has time come for a ‘top two’ primary system? (Bonner County Daily Bee)  Disenfranchising voters is never a good thing. Which is why it’s time to end Idaho’s rigid party system, which favors the Republican and Democrat parties. Instead, let’s switch to a “top two” primary system like that adopted by Washington voters in 2004 and which has successfully run in Louisiana for years. A similar system, through Proposition 14, was adopted recently in California.

Penny Pinching or Partisan Politics?

PROPOSITION 14
PENNY PINCHING OR PARTISAN POLITICS? CALIFORNIA AND ITS PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES (Written by  Andrew Carico, PublicCEO.com) The bulletin also states that at least one county, Los Angeles, will face increased costs and logistical difficulties because of the voting system they use. These difficulties stem from the requirements of Proposition 14 (the direct "top two" primary) and its implementing legislation, SB 6 (Chapter 1, Statutes of 2009).

Proposition 14 Dramatically Changed California Primary Process

PROPOSITION 14 
Candidates fight for endorsements to replace Rep Harman (Jason Franklin, LA Political Buzz Examiner) When Proposition 14 passed in 2010, it dramatically changed the primary process, so that all the candidates running for the 36th district will be on one primary ballet. The top two candidates, regardless of political party, will be eligible to run during the special election, unless one candidate receives an absolute majority.

Independent Voters Decide Elections; Idaho Republicans Move to Close Primaries

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Among Independents, Poll Favors Obama Over Congress (By MEGAN THEE-BRENAN, NY Times/The Caucus) Independent voters make up an influential voting bloc that frequently decides elections, but they are an unpredictable bunch. In 2008, just over half of independent voters threw their support behind Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats, yet by the election of 2010, they had swung back to supporting Republicans for Congress. Now, just a few months into the new Congress’s term, more than twice as many independents approve of the job the president is doing than they do of the job Congress is doing, according to the latest CBS News poll.
• Moderates vs. Independents Part I (Introduction, 2010 chart) (by: DGM, Swing State Project) Savvy political analysists have long understood that the number of truly Independent voters is a lot smaller than the self-identification numbers suggest, but that doesn't stop even the most savvy of political analysists from assuming that Independent = Moderate. 

IDAHO REPUBS GET BACKING FROM COURT TO CLOSE PRIMARY
Introduce measure in legislature

• Elias: State GOP shoots self in foot once again (Thomas D. Elias, Ventura County Star) The latest self-destructive move came at the party's late-winter state convention, where activist delegates voted to stage an end-run around the "top-two" open primary election system that now allows all voters to cast ballots for any candidates they like, regardless of party. That system gets its first large scale test in the statewide primary set for next spring.
• Idaho starts down road to closing GOP primary, state to pay legal fees to Republican party (Associated Press, Magic Valley Times News) Under Monday's measure, Republicans would vote in GOP primary races, while Democrats would vote in Democratic primaries.

NOTE: Lots of local coverage using this AP piece

2012

• The Donald, debunked (By Chris Cillizza, Washington Post/The Fix) And, don’t forget that in 1999 Trump formally registered with New York’s Independence Party as he weighed a run for president on the Reform Party line. He might have a hard time explaining that move to GOP caucus and primary voters.

CALIFORNIA PROP 14 ELECTION

• Steve Collett Announces Candidacy for Congress - Candidate Claims "Marijuana Will Be Legal in 2012" Steve Collett for Congress (PRESS RELEASE Bradenton.com) Running as a Libertarian, Steve Collett is on the ballot in what is likely to be an 18-way race. The official list will be certified on March 30th, but the list includes Mr. Collett, five democrats, six Republicans, one Peace and Freedom candidate and five others who will be listed on the ballot as "No Party Preference." Heavyweights Janice Hahn and "Kit" Bobko are likely to make a large splash in a race already in controversy. The Secretary of State, Debra Bowen, is also in the race, making for a very complicated transition to the new election rules passed by voters with Proposition 14 last year.

EDUCATION REFORM

• Poverty the biggest challenge of all in education reform (Central Jersey.com/Courier News Editorials) A good education is perhaps the most important factor in breaking the cycle of poverty. Education not only teaches skills, but it also broadens a student's horizons and introduces them to opportunities that otherwise they would never know. An education gives them a chance to succeed and break the bounds of poverty.

Pennsylvania's DePasquale: Open Primaries Gives Voters a Choice

OPEN PRIMARIES FOR PENNSYLVANIA

• State lawmaker pursues big voting reform ideas (Jennifer Rizzi, WHTM - abc27 News Harrisburg) "If 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," DePasquale said. He also wants to make it easier for Independents to run for political office by equalizing their rights and options with other parties.
• Independent Pennsylvanians is an association of independent and independent-minded voters. We support issues and campaigns at the local, state and national level designed to increase the visibility and power of independent voters in Pennsylvania—now the fastest growing political force in America.

CALIFORNIA PROP 14 - ELECTION MAY 17

• Field of 18 Competing for Vacant Congressional Seat (By Paul Chavez, Hermosa Beach Patch)
• California's Party of No Takes Center Stage, or Does It? (William Bradley - California-based Political Analyst NewWestNotes.com, Huffington Post) The Republicans hate California's new open primary even more than the Democrats. After first trying create a new rule allowing small groups of right-wing activists to name party nominees, they came up with a compromise: The Republican Party will hold a primary election before the primary election. So that Republicans will know who to vote for in the real primary election. How will this new primary be organized and, more to the point, paid for? Who knows?
• It's Time to "Change" Congress  (Independent Voice) With an historic victory for the Open Primary in June 2010, it's time to move on to our next fight - Redistricting Reform. IndependentVoice.Org is one of the Steering Committee Members of Yes on 20, No on 27. Proposition 20 takes the Redistricting Reform we passed in 2008 and applies it to Congressional Districts.  Proposition 27 is a measure put on the ballot by politicians that would return all power over the redistricting process to them.  So say it with us . .  . YES ON 20, NO ON 27!!