Federal judge rejects councilwoman's challenge to NJ primary system

Federal judge rejects Morristown councilwoman’s challenge to New Jersey primary system

August 19, 2014 by Kevin Coughlin 

 

A federal judge has upheld New Jersey’s closed primary system, rejecting a legal challenge from Morristown Council President Rebecca Feldman and others who contended the taxpayer-funded primaries unfairly exclude nearly half the state’s voters, who are unaffiliated...

Community Activist Tia Williams talking to voters in Jersey City

“The Supreme Court has drawn an important distinction between casting a ballot in a general election, which implies the ‘fundamental’ right to vote, and nominating a candidate for general election, which does not,” wrote Judge Chesler, granting New Jersey Secretary of State Kim Guadagno’s motion to dismiss the case.



Harry Kresky, one of the lawyers representing Feldman and eight other plaintiffs, said they are weighing an appeal.

Harry Kresky, Councel for independentvoting.org

“We think the Court misunderstood our argument. The judge addressed this as a case of Independents wanting to participate in party politics. That’s not what this case is about. It’s about whether the state of New Jersey can fund and administer a system that’s for the parties and not for anyone else,” said Kresky, adding he was surprised that no oral arguments were heard in the case.

Morristown NJ Council President Rebecca Feldman
Photo by Kevin Coughlin

“This is only the first round,” said Feldman, an Independent on the town council, in a statement. “The other plaintiffs and I never thought it would be easy to get beyond the hold the major parties have on our election system.”







Go to independenvoting.org for more information about the national movement for a fair and open -- and nonpartisan -- primary election system.

A tip -- you can read more from Harry Kresky about our current constitutional crisis here.

- NH

Hankster News of the Day for Independents May 15

If you're independent, you won't be voting today in Idaho... Poor poor Michael Russnow, can't find Dianne Feinstein's name in the "clutter"! ... WI Gov Walker failing with indies... Americans Elect failing... Christine Quinn plays it safe to get the 2013 NYC Mayoral...

CA TOP TWO

• California Primary Ballot Hodgepodge: We Need a Return to Voting By Party Members Only (Michael Russnow, Screenwriter, former Member WGAW Board of Directors, former U.S. Senate aide, Huffington Post) Remembering that this was the year long-time incumbent Dianne Feinstein was running for re-election, I was hard pressed to find her in the ensuing clutter. Nor was it easier to find her opponents, none of whom I had ever heard of.
• “No Party Preference” Voters To Sway Senate District 15 (by Jane Susskind, IVN) Almost 28% of voters in Senate District 15 have opted out of the two-party system and are registered as “No Party Preference,” placing this district on our radar of races to watch.
• California focus - Feinstein strength exposes primary weakness (By THOMAS D. ELIAS, Ukiah Daily Journal) The top-two, or "jungle primary" system voters adopted for themselves and will use for the first time next month, will put the two leading finishers in every legislative and congressional race into November runoffs, regardless of their party affiliation. But U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein appears about to expose one wasteful difference between the new primary system and the way special elections have long operated: In special elections, if one candidate gets more than 50 percent of the first-round vote, there's no runoff. That candidate simply wins. Not so with the new primary setup. No one running for Congress will win outright next month.

IDAHO CLOSED PRIMARY

• 8 Things You Need To Know To Vote In Idaho’s Primary (Samantha Wright / Boise State Public Radio) Closed Primary:  This year, Idaho made the switch to a closed primary system.  The Idaho Republican Party sued the state to make this happen, as Party Executive Director Jonathan Parker explains. “We do believe that it is our right to essentially let Republicans chose Republican candidates, Democrats choose Democrat candidates, as these are the candidates who will be our standard bearers, carrying the torch for the Republican Party in November.
• Idaho Primary: Why The GOP Closed Its Ballot (By Samantha Wright, Boise State Public Radio) Grant says there was never a Democratic mandate to cross over and vote for someone in the GOP primary.  But he does say, in local races, a tiny fraction of Democrats have done this.  “And in many areas those races are decided in the Republican Primary.  So there are folks, I’m sure there are folks now, folks that are good Democrats that have registered as Republicans so they can vote in those local races.”… That could be a challenge for the 37 percent of Idahoans who label themselves Independent, according to a 2011 Public Policy Survey by Boise State University.

WISCONSIN RECALL
Poll: Wis. Gov. Walker leads Dem opponent by 9 points in recall (By Justin Sink, The Hill/ Blog Briefing Room) But Walker's lead shrinks among independent voters, among whom the incumbent governor holds just a three-point advantage. That's an encouraging sign for Barrett, who must make inroads among swing voters as well as rally his Democratic base.

AMERICANS ELECT
Americans Elect vote deadline hours away (Jonathan Tilove, The Times-Picayune) "Yes, the deadline is 11:59:59 tonight," Americans Elect spokesman Ileana Wachtel said in an email this morning, referring to the requirement that, in order to compete in the Americans Elect voting a candidate must first gain 1,000 clicks from supporters in each of 10 states. The leading declared candidate, by a mile, is former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer, but as of today he had only 5,618 clicks, and the most from any single state is 583 from California.

NYC 2013 MAYORAL

• Speaker Christine Quinn primary sponsor of just two of 827 bills submitted to City Council since 2010 - Exclusive: Council sources say she avoids lending name to legislation so it won't hurt mayoral run (By Reuven Blau / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS) The News’ review found that the most active Council member in terms of introducing legislation was Gale Brewer (D-Manhattan), who submitted 62 bills. They ranged from a measure requiring the city to post more statistical data online to one to force the city to purchase locally grown vegetables. Most of Brewer’s bills stalled in committee, but the mayor signed seven into law, including the measure to disclose city data. Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Queens) was second, with 49 bills, followed by Councilman Daniel Garodnick (D-Manhattan), with 44.
• New York Voters Support Minimum Wage Increase, Poll Says (By THOMAS KAPLAN, NY Times/ City Room) Democrats and independent voters were strongly supportive of raising the minimum wage, the poll found, with 88 percent of Democrats and 75 percent of independents in support.

I'm An Independent - Can I Vote in Super Tuesday's Republican Primary?

Alaska - Open Primary: Parties select who may vote in their primaries. To vote in the GOP primary, a voter must be registered as a Republican 30 days before Election Day.

Georgia - Open: No party affiliation required at registration. However, on Election Day, voters must declare an oath of intent to affiliate with the particular party for whom they are voting on Election Day.

Idaho - Closed: Until 2011, all Idaho primaries were open. Independents intervened in a lawsuit brought by a faction of the Republican Party seeking to close their primaries. However, the GOP obtained a declaratory judgment that mandating open primaries violated freedom of association and was thus unconstitutional in Idaho Republican Party v. Ysura. Subsequently, the legislature passed a bill allowing parties to choose which type of primary they use. Democrats have chosen a semi-closed primary; unaffiliated voters may register a party at the polls on election day, but they are bound to that party affiliation at the next election.

Massachusetts - Semi-Closed: Affiliated voters must vote in the primary of their party; however, unaffiliated voters may vote in either primary.

North Dakota - Closed: The only state without voter registration. To vote in the Republican caucus you must have affiliated with the Republican Party in the last general election or intend to do so in the next election.

Ohio - Closed: Voters' right to vote in the primary may be challenged on the basis that they are not affiliated with the party for whom they are voting in the primary.

Oklahoma - Closed: Only voters affiliated with a particular party may vote in its primary.

Tennessee - Open: No party affiliation required at registration. 

Vermont - Open: No registration by party. For presidential primary, voters must declare which ballots they want.

Virginia - Open: No party affiliation required at registration.

source: FairVote

Idaho Repubs Exclude Indies from Primary Voting

OPEN PRIMARIES
Idaho GOP to consider dropping presidential primary (Betsy Z. Russell The Spokesman-Review) Not on the agenda for the two-day meeting: letting independents vote in the GOP primary for state offices next May. Current party rules ban anyone other than registered Republicans from voting in the Idaho GOP primary.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

REFORM

• Of primary concern: County commission holds hot contests (Bradenton Herald) During the presidential primary, independent voters responded to Florida's closed primary system with an avalance of criticism - maintaining their ballots had been hijacked and they had been disenfranchised.
• All eyes on Washington's primary (The Oregonian) The Oregon proposal, Measure 65, would eliminate the state's "pick-a-party" primary, which restricts each voter to one party's line of candidates. It's a traditional but essentially undemocratic system that disenfranchises independents, who account for a quarter of Oregon's 2 million registered voters.
• Open primary initiative may skate through election (The Oregonian)

LOCAL INDEPENDENT NEWS

• NH: BETTY HALL MEETS THE DEADLINE AND THEN SOME (PRESS RELEASE-Politicker NH) "It is clear to many that the major parties have failed to meet the challenges of our time. A growing new trend away from nonperforming and unaccountable parties is increasingly visible and, in my opinion, much needed. I feel that I can best continue to serve unencumbered by the labels."
• CO: Deep blue Boulder-Already a Democratic safe zone, Boulder County gets more liberal (Boulder Daily Camera) Unaffiliated voters are also growing in Colorado as a whole, creeping up on the Republican party. Independent voters make up 34 percent of registered voters in the state.
• CO: In some races, November comes early (Denver Post) Independents, unaffiliated with either major party, are now Colorado's largest group of registered voters, but they'll be shut out of Tuesday's primary elections.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

REFORM

• Vote in primary (Muskogee Phoenix.com - OK) Oklahoma, at the very least, should change its voting laws to allow open primaries so that voters can choose at their polling places which party ballot they will vote each election regardless of their party affliation.
• Organizer holds 'Miss Legislative Reform' pageant (Pittsburgh Tribune Review) The nine female and two male contestants wore formal dresses and tiaras, their sashes marked with titles such as "Miss True Redistricting" and "Miss No Lobbyists' Gifts."

CAMPAIGN

• Is Bob Barr The New Nader? (NPR audio clip)
• An Unconventional Idea (By David Frum, American Enterprise Institute) Critique of major party conventions: The Democratic convention of 1972 was the first where a majority of the delegates were chosen in primaries--that is, by direct vote of party members.... The show [the convention] is long over. It was fatally wounded by the shift to open primaries and finished off by the imperatives of television. But even so, thousands of the most active Democrats and Republicans in America still agree to gather in one spot for public purpose every four years....

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS
FLORIDA

• Suit Targets Write-In Candidates Loophole (The Tampa Tribune) Don't close the primaries
• Aronberg sues over write-in loophole (Palm Beach Post FL) Independent voter joins suit
• EDITORIAL ~~ Commissioner is no democrat either . . . (Fernandina Beach Leader - FL) Higginbotham changed from a Democrat to a Republican for convenience as the GOP became Nassau County's majority party. He has become nonpartisan for convenience as well.

CAMPAIGN

• Deeply divided Colorado could be a toss-up state (CNN) Colorado, with its large population of independent voters, could become the ultimate battleground state in the general election.
• Obama Camp Thinks Democrats Can Rise in South (BlueRidgeNow - NC)

REFORM: Initiative and Referendum, Redistricting

• Citizens Have A Right To Legislate (LETTERS Hartford Courant )
• Voter reforms should be included on ballots (LETTER Albany Times Union)
• First step in city council recall attempt begins with meeting (BY DAVID TEWES - VICTORIA ADVOCATE - TX)
• Shameless Anti-Redistricting Web Site Goes Up (New America/Blockbuster Democracy blog)
• Stop the Power Grab Redistricting Initiative (Citizens for Accountability website) ref. above
• Sacramento Bee Account of Redistricting Debate (Rose Report)
• Senator Perata’s Redistricting Hypocrisy (Rose Report)
• Orlando Sentinel Editorial on Florida Redistricting Reform (Rose Report)
• Perata's power play (San Francisco Chronicle)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

CAMPAIGN

• Obama has head start in Oregon (Statesman Journal) About 70 "Obama organizing fellows" have poured into Oregon in the past week, out of 3,600 volunteers dispatched nationwide.
• Colorado: Middle-of-the-road voters steer state (The Denver Post) The state's pragmatic and progressive unaffiliated voters are largely credited — or blamed, depending on whom you ask — for the political conversion.
• Lawrence voters will play pivotal role in races (Lawrence Journal World) As of June 1, there were approximately 1,645,703 registered voters in Kansas. Republican registration stood at 739,070; unaffiliated at 448,745; and Democrats, 447,419.

REFORM

• MN: Petition was sound, council's obligation clear: Let the people vote (TwinCities.com)
• FL: Lake County Republicans thwart public's right to vote (Orlando Sentinel) Monkeying with the democratic system is just wrong, regardless of how some Republicans try to justify it.
• WA voters get first shot at Gregoire-Rossi rematch (Seattle Post Intelligencer) "The voters of the state of Washington have historically believed deeply that it is the people who should be controlling this process, and nobody else," Secretary of State Sam Reed said.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

UTAH CLOSED PRIMARY PUSH

• Politics in Utah: Is it a caucus or a cacophony? (The Spectrum) Is it time to dismantle the political machinery of Utah and reclaim the empowerment of citizens' votes by having open primaries, whereby scrutiny of candidates is encouraged?
• Board of Education protests process (Deseret News) "We would support either an open primary or a return to district committees but state that partisan elections and the present state selection committee are both detrimental to the oversight of the education of our children and that the current process subverts the Utah constitutional requirement that members of the State Board of Education be generally elected."

REFORM

• Two-party system a detriment to democracy (South Bend Tribune LETTER)
• Hometown Democracy Sues Over Petition Law (Florida Trend)
• It's time to phase out the Electoral College and let individual votes count (Tennessee Voices)

CAMPAIGN
The Ron Paul Vote: A Headache for John McCain? (Wall Street Journal/Political Perceptions)

MEDIA
The Lou Dobbs Primary? Media, not voters, push immigration issue (FAIR)

BLACK LEADERSHIP
The Black Progressive Leadership Void (BlackState)

You Can't Change the Political Game Unless You Change the Political Rules

From independentvoting.org:
Independents are now 40% of the electorate and are playing a major role in national and local politics.

The following are a set of political reforms favored by many independent voters that address the institutional barriers to theirparticipation and to greater democracy.

Open primaries: This was the year of the Open Primary. Independents flocked to vote in the primaries and established that they are an engine for a new politic. Support for open primaries is very high among independents. CUIP’s polling puts it consistently at above 90%. Consequently, independents would value efforts to further institutionalize this practice.

Open Primaries is a general category which has taken a number of different forms. Whatever the approach taken, open primaries would allow some 40% of American voters to participate in the critical first round of elections for public office from which closed primaries bar them. Moreover, as this year’s presidential primaries demonstrate, open primaries maximize the influence of younger voters, anti-machine voters and voters more open to change. Thirty-three states have some form of open primaries (or caucuses) at the presidential level. Only a handful have them for other federal or for state offices (though many cities have nonpartisan municipal elections, including 60 out of 75 of the nation’s largest cities as of 1991). ....... (read more)

Conversations on Pennsylvania's Closed Primary

Who Benefits From Pennsylvania's Closed Primary? Just a quick thought about how the "closed" nature of tomorrow's primary might affect the outcome. The conventional wisdom is that it hurts Obama, since he tends to do better among independents and Republicans. But I think that could be wrong...... (The New Republic The Stump)

Pennsylvania by the numbers: As Pennsylvania voters head to the polls today, they'll invariably cast their ballots not only as citizens of the Keystone State but as representatives of their various demographic groups: the working-class, old, educated, suburban, late-deciders..... (New York Magazine Daily Intel)

Clinton's to lose: The Pennsylvania primary is closed to the independents who have buoyed Obama to many big victories around the country. Pennsylvania is a traditionally machine politics state, and the biggest machine is controlled by popular Governor Ed Rendell, Hillary’s biggest backer..... (New West Notes)

George Washington warned against the forming of political parties: Get out and vote. I know I sure would, if I could. However, since PA is a closed primary election state, other party affiliates like myself are excluded from primary elections..... (JessicaLPL)


Lock Out: Today I am but an observer. Pennsylvania practices what is called a 'closed' primary, meaning that in order to vote, one must be registered in one of the two major political parties. To much criticism, I refuse to relinquish my independent status. I do not approve of the two-party system, so I will not take part in it. My own political standpoint leans towards something like a much more radical democracy than we have now, and that means at least a few other parties.... (Syndesmotic Soul Mania)

It's Not My Party: I can't vote. I'm a card carrying member of the Green Party, which I've belonged to since 2004 and don't see myself changing back to the Democratic party any time soon. My reasons are varied but basically I don't believe they are serious about addressing the issues that really affect America and the world anymore.... (The Lost and Found Bin of My Mind)