Open Primaries, Up or Down? Missouri, New Mexico, Tennessee

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Lawmaker Wants to Put Squeeze on Open Primaries (by Joe White, Nashville Public Radio) State Senator Stacy Campfield, a Knoxville Republican, has filed a bill to make cross-over voting more difficult.
• Editorial: Let All N.M. Voters Vote (By Albuquerque Journal Editorial Board) Almost 200,000 New Mexicans who have taken the trouble to register to vote have decided not to declare an affiliation with a political party. And every primary Election Day, those almost 200,000 New Mexicans are told not to trouble themselves by casting a ballot.
• Mo. Primary Election Looms (by Don Corrigan, Webster Kirkwood Times) The argument against the open primary in Missouri is that it allows pachyderms to vote on the donkeys' ballots and vice versa. Although I consider myself an Independent, I have upset some of my GOP buddies when I've told them that I've participated in their pachyderm primaries. I think open primaries make sense.

Improved Ballot Access for Third Parties in Tennessee

THIRD PARTY BALLOT ACCESS
Green Party, Constitution Party sue over TN ballot access - New law doesn't address judge's concern of stringent rules, they say (Written by Chas Sisk, The Tennessean) That indicates the requirements are too stringent, U.S. District Judge William J. Haynes Jr. said in a decision released last September. He ordered state lawmakers to pass a new ballot-access law. The legislature did so in May, passing a bill with broad support from Democrats and Republicans. The law removed the requirement that signers declare themselves to be party members, and it gave parties about 15 more days to gather signatures.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS 8/5/10

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Afghan War Looms As Electoral Problem (John Zogby, Forbes) Democratic and independent voters are most skeptical about the Afghan War, making it a potentially huge electoral problem for Obama.
• Blacks & Whites Divided on President Obama's Approval Rating; First Lady Rates High (Posted by Bridgette Outten, Politic365)
• Blacks and Whites Continue to Differ Sharply on Obama (by Frank Newport, Gallup)

OPEN PRIMARIES

• The Complications of Tennessee’s Primary Voting System (By Jesse Fox Mayshark, Knoxville News Sentinel/MetroPulse) Tennessee is an "open primary" state where unaffilated voters can choose a primary ballot, however, A separate section of the code allows for a challenge to any voter’s right to participate in a primary, “on grounds of party membership.” In other words, if you want to vote in the Republican primary, but somebody thinks you are not really a Republican, you could theoretically be blocked from casting a ballot. 
• Crossover voting law muddies primary waters (By Michael Cass, THE TENNESSEAN) Tennessee's party primaries are open to all comers, creating openings for opposition-party maneuvering that could skew results and scramble the state's political landscape.
• EDITORIAL: Primary is next Tuesday; here's a primer (Hutchinson MN Leader) In Minnesota, we have what’s called an open primary. Voters receive one ballot listing candidates of all parties — but they must remember to vote for candidates of only one party. Selecting candidates from more than one party will disqualify a ballot. We prefer open primaries because voters should be able to chose the best candidate in privacy. Asking an election judge for a specific party’s ballot greatly diminishes that privacy.
• Missouri Vote Repudiates Healthcare Law (By: Sean Lengell, NewsMax) In Missouri's open primaries, voters do not have to register their party affiliation, and far more people picked Republican ballots than Democratic ones Tuesday.
• State should adopt open primaries (LETTER Lower Hudson Valley) Let's get a petition of our own going. Let's call for open primaries in New York state. This will allow every registered voter to vote in any one primary of their choosing. Twenty five states have some form of this system. Let's put an end to the smoky backroom deals that pre-select our local officials and make a mockery of the Democratic process.

THIRD PARTIES

• MD: Independent Party is no more in Md.- Some voters will become unaffiliated unless they act (By ALAN BRODY, Southern Maryland News) The state board voted on June 3 to dissolve the Independent Party due to its dormant campaign finance account, leaving all those previously registered with the party free to change their registration to one of the five recognized political parties (Democratic, Republican, Green, Libertarian and Constitution) or do nothing and be classified as unaffiliated.
• OR: Independents choose Bruun over Schrader for Congress (BY KARA HANSEN, The West Linn Tidings)

CONNECTICUT

• Independents flocking to Linda McMahon in Connecticut Senate race (By Felicia Sonmez, Washington Post/The Fix)

NEW YORK

• Maltese BoE Candidacy Likely To Swing Top Job To Democrats (By Edward-Isaac Dovere, City Hall News)

NYC CHARTER REVISION

• Charter Staffer Outreach To BoE Becomes Flashpoint For Commissioner Dispute (By Edward-Isaac Dovere, City Hall News) Scissura said, when informed of the call. “It just goes to the fact that unfortunately, the executive director of the commission has misused the great talents of 15 great commissioners. And that’s something I’m really saddened by.”
• Councilman Would Love Three Terms For City Pension (Gothamist)
• Councilman Not Shy About Retiring (By MICHAEL HOWARD SAUL, Wall Street Journal) Howard Rubenstein, a spokesman for Ron Lauder, who led the movement to introduce term limits in the city, said officials "should serve because they love and want to help the city and not because of personal gain through their pension."

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS 7/28/10

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Plain Talk: We only say we want independent pols (Dave Zweifel, The Cap Times - Madison WI) Meanwhile, the independent voters exhibit the patience of a hungry baby, willing to change course at the drop of a hat or buy into the loudest rhetoric, whether there’s any truth to it or not. From the beginning, with President Obama’s blessing, Senate Democrats tried to get Republicans involved in the health care legislation, only to be rebuffed after wasting six months of crucial time trying. In return, Obama’s approval ratings by “independents” plummeted. Go figure.
• The secret Twitter war for America's independents: #tcot vs #p2 (Yobie Benjamin, San Francisco Chronicle/Hacking Capitalism, Carbon, Politics & Food blog)

OPEN PRIMARIES

• TN: Local GOP appears to be in state of polarization following challenge (By Michael R. Moser, Editor, Crossville TN Chronicle) Cumberland County Republican Party Chairman Aaron Snodderly's call for GOP unity was muted Thursday night when he endorsed the challenge last week of a voter's right to cast a ballot in his party's primary and went on to state he favors closed primaries for Tennessee.

NYC CHARTER REVISION

• Queens Civics Advance Charter Principles (CityPragmatist) QCC recommends that the CCRC reject suggestions for non-partisan elections.
• Dr. Lenora Fulani addresses NYC Charter Revision Commission: The Commission has not practiced democracy, it's a disgrace! VIDEO ON HANKSTERTUBE

The Charter Revision Commission will be discussing what else they might consider putting on the ballot in addition to Term Limits tonight at the Queens Boro Hall.

• Place:  Queen Borough Hall, 2^nd Floor Conference Room, 120-55 Queens Blvd, Kew Gardens, QUEENS
• Time: 6 p.m.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS 7/27/10

OPEN PRIMARIES

• TN: Limiting voting wrong for democracy (Jackson Sun) Tennessee Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, who also is running for governor, wants to close primary elections to all but bona fide party members. We believe he is wrong and citizens should be able to vote in any election in which they want to have a voice. Limiting voting options is no way to encourage people to participate in a democracy.
• TN: Ramsey Alone for Closing TN Primaries (Fox News Memphis, By ERIK SCHELZIG Associated Press Writer) 
• AZ: Independents should exercise their political clout in primary election (Steven W. Lynn Special To The Arizona Daily Star) The number of independents - almost one-third of Arizona's 3.1 million registered voters - is political muscle that should be flexed. Independents can affect the outcome of primaries and, ultimately, government's political temper. More than 940,000 Arizonans are registered independents or "no party designated." Democrats are at about 1 million and about 1.1 million are registered Republican.

CALIFORNIA

• Redistricting Commission diverse in more than just race (Rose Institute - Claremont McKenna College) As required by Proposition 11, 40 of the remaining applicants are registered Democrats, 40 are Republicans, and 40 are not registered with either of the two major parties. The Citizens Redistricting Commission represents the first time that independent voters will have a significant voice in the state’s redistricting process.

NEW YORK

• Hawkins Calls for Cuomo to Come Clean, Drop Independence Line (Howie
• Hawkins - Green For Governor, Media Release)
• DiNapoli Gets NARAL, Declines to Comment on Indy Party (By David Freedlander, NY Observer)

NYC CHARTER REVISION

• City's Charter Revision Meeting Disrupted by Protesters (By Jill Colvin, DNAinfo)
• NYC's 'constitution': a 'hot' topic (By MATTHEW GOLDSTEIN, NY Post)
• Charter Review Commission Gets Earful In Harlem (By: Grace Rauh, NY1)
• Chance to restore the public's trust (By Ester R. Fuchs, Crain's New York) The second proposition should open up the election process by making all registered voters eligible to participate in a nonpartisan primary for council seats and citywide offices. The top two vote-getters would face each other in the general election.
• From Harlem — Lenora Fulani To NYC Charter Revision Commission: This is about Democracy. (POSTED BY NANCY HANKS, The Moderate Voice) VIDEO of Lenora Fulani's full testimony
• Efficiency! is Theme of Charter Hearing (City Pragmatist)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS: The Fight for Open Primaries

KENTUCKY OPEN PRIMARIES BILL

• Independents still out in the cold (By PAUL GLASSER, The State Journal - Frankfort KY) "I'm not an undecided voter," Ritter said. "The current political process is not meeting our needs." 
  
• State should let independents vote in primary (LETTER TO Lexington Herald Leader) House Bill 17, a bill to allow unaffiliated voters to vote in the primary election, is a progressive step forward for Kentuckians.
  
• Early voting and running mate bills pass first step (Bluegrass Politics) “More people will vote. This is good for democracy,” said Mark Ritter, a retired state worker and lieutenant colonel in the Kentucky National Guard who has been a registered independent since 1991.
  

WEST VIRGINIA OPEN PRIMARIES

EDITORIAL: The Results Are In: GOP Legislators Want Independents Included in Republican Primaries (HuntingtonNews.Net) Simply put, the West Virginia Republican Party needs every vote it can get from likeminded individuals, whether they are Independents in primaries or conservative Democrats in general elections. 

TENNESSEE OPEN PRIMARIES

Tennessee should stick with open primary voting (By Gail Kerr, The Tennessean) In Tennessee, voters are notoriously independent. We have a long history of electing moderate candidates who have traits voters in both parties find attractive... Voters here like that they can pick the person, not the party. And that's how it should stay.

CALIFORNIA OPEN PRIMARIES

Maldonado: Now Accepting Friends (Santa Cruz.com) “This is why we need an open primary,” Maldonado told reporter Kurtis Alexander, “so we can keep extremists like Mr. Keeley from coming to Sacramento.” But wait! Keeley now works for the reform group California Forward, which supports open primaries.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

Newsweek's Jonathan Alter has some interesting observations about independents, open primaries and power in the American electoral system... Must Reading for independent voters!!!

• While waiting at JFK in New York on part of my relaxing 12-hour flight to Ft. Myers Florida last week (more about that later!), I had trouble logging in to the webcast of the American Citizens' Summit hosted by the Transpartisan Alliance, but here's a Green Party press release and a post by Ordinary Person  and by Georgia Independents that gives you a sense of the participation.
  

• Tennessee state legislature entertains partisan registration bill -- would you want these people telling you what party you belong to???
  
• Dan Walters' on the rise of independent voters and the prospect of open primaries in California
  
• South Dakota legislature gives parties rights to closed primaries -- are they horse trading with voters' rights?
  
• Greg Mitchell, editor of Editor and Publisher, has a new book out "Why Obama Won", noting effect of independent voters
  
• Barry Rascover in Maryland nails the problem with the Repubs, doesn't get the trend: Independents voted for Obama, but that doesn't make us Dems...
  

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS: Measure of a Nation: We are the change (Kansas City Star) "My daddy and daddy's daddy were Democrats," Youngblood says, "but I wouldn't claim either party right now."

INDEPENDENTS AND THE IRAQ WAR: Support for war effort highest since 2006 (Politico) Half of self-identified independents polled now believe the United States should “keep troops in Iraq until the situation has stabilized,” according to polling data assembled by Pew at Politico’s request. **** Adoration, Protesters Greet McCain on N.H. Return (The Trail/Washington Post)

PENNSYLVANIA: Poll: Hillary’s negative rating rivals Santorum’s (Times Tribune) Swing voters, especially, can be crucial to winning national elections in Pennsylvania.

TENNESSEE: Switch in party leads to runoffs - If you changed for primary, can't cross back for revote (Commercial Appeal)

NORTH CAROLINA: Not Registered to Vote? Please DO IT TODAY! (News At Norman) **** Clinton accused of writing off North Carolina- At issue: Whether N.C. should be labeled a red or a swing state (Raleigh News & Observer)

Tennessee: Mike Williams switches from Repub to independent

State Senator Mike Williams has quit the Repubs to become an independent. Here in The Tennessean, and the Repubs want him to resign, here in The Chattanoogan...

Tennessee: independent voters

Tennessee candidates need indies (National Review)