Kentucky SB 41: A Dent in the Armor

Semi-open primaries are better than completely closed primaries, and that's what independents in Kentucky are going to have to settle for for now as Kentucky's SB 41 was approved in the Senate allowing independents who are registered the year before a primary to vote. Not quite there yet but it is a crack in the wall.

Headway is being made in Utah as well, as prominent Utahans such as their former Gov. Olene Walker are calling for redistricting reform for the upcoming drawing, specifically, an independent commission to do the job. Utah has been long considered to be one of the least competitive states due to favorable GOP districts.
OPEN PRIMARIES

• Kentucky Bill for a Semi-Closed Primary Passes Committee (Ballot Access News) On February 2, the Senate State and Local Government Committee passed SB 41, by Senator Jimmy Higdon (R-Lebanon). It says that independent voters, and also members of unqualified parties, may vote in partisan primaries.

ELECTION REFORM

• Don’t make it harder to vote in Wisconsin (Cap Times editorial - WI) Thanks to open primaries and a tradition of ticket splitting, our parties have historically been more ideologically and regionally diverse than in other states. Thus, Republican governors like Tommy Thompson and Scott Walker have been able to find former Democratic legislators to serve in their administrations.

OBAMA

• Prez tops Palin, Newt in S.C. — not Mitt, Huck (By JUANA SUMMERS, Politico) Obama doesn’t do well with South Carolina’s independent voters, who make up 22 percent of the electorate. Obama has a 39 percent approval rating with unaffiliated voters, compared with 54 percent disapproving.

UTAH

• Group proposes independent panel to study Utah redistricting (BY LADD BRUBAKER, The Salt Lake Tribune) A nonpartisan group of prominent Utahns is calling on the Legislature to create an independent commission as part of the upcoming redistricting — a redrawing of political boundaries that happens every 10 years… Buoyed by a recent Salt Lake Tribune poll indicating that 73 percent of Utahns support an independent redistricting commission, organizers plan to draw up their own redistricting proposals and hold statewide public meetings to generate pressure on legislators.
• Don't Count Out Moderate Republican Jon Huntsman (By Solomon Kleinsmith, WNYC/It's A Free Country - Read. Argue. Listen. Act.) The trick will be getting those voters to the primaries and caucuses in enough numbers to at least keep him in the game, and use the open primary states, where independents can vote for him without changing registration, to put him over the top. With no contest going on for the left or moderate independents, those states will be much more likely to make their voices heard for him.

NEW YORK

• Gresham and Mulgrew, two top labor leaders, broken faith with Gov. Cuomo and New Yorkers (EDITORIAL NY Daily News) Gresham and Mulgrew joined fully aware that Cuomo was committed to closing the state's $10 billion deficit by cutting out-of-control spending, and without resorting to tax hikes. But when Cuomo kept his pledge Tuesday, Gresham and Mulgrew abandoned theirs.A Senate flashback (Albany Times Union) Why, it was June of 2009, the summer of the coup and the counter-coup. Richard Ravitch had yet to be appointed lieutenant governor. So Sen. Pedro Espada -- remember him? -- was claiming that, as president pro tempore, he effectively could cast two votes on behalf of the Republicans to whom he'd temporarily defected. He would vote as a member of the state Senate. And then he would vote again, as the acting lieutenant governor. The GOP would rule, all right.
• Independence Party Chimes In On Budget (Posted by: Nick Reisman, Politics on the Hudson) The state Independence Party Chairman Frank MacKay gave his thumbs on the budget proposal released by Gov. Andrew Cuomo this week.
• Big money, small issues (By Dylan Matthews, Washington Post/Ezra Klein) Tom Golisano isn't a particularly big name with people who aren't New York political junkies. He's basically Ross Perot writ small. He's a billionaire who founded a third party (the Independence Party), ran for governor a few times and did surprisingly well, and holds idiosyncratic but generally center-right views. His latest project has more national ramifications. He's apparently bankrolling efforts to implement the National Popular Vote plan, a work-around meant to abolish the Electoral College without amending the Constitution.
• A Senate flashback (Albany Times Union) Why, it was June of 2009, the summer of the coup and the counter-coup. Richard Ravitch had yet to be appointed lieutenant governor. So Sen. Pedro Espada -- remember him? -- was claiming that, as president pro tempore, he effectively could cast two votes on behalf of the Republicans to whom he'd temporarily defected. He would vote as a member of the state Senate. And then he would vote again, as the acting lieutenant governor. The GOP would rule, all right.

EDUCATION REFORM

• CHAVOUS: The new Rosa Parks - A parent risking jail for better schools signals a time for choice (By Kevin P. Chavous -The Washington Times) Clearly, something is happening in the push to reform American schools, and it is not going away. Slowly, but ever so surely, parents are injecting themselves into the discussion.

The Time for Structural Political Reform is Now

RECOMMENDED READING ON OPEN PRIMARIES:

But the quantitative success of independent candidates is still minimal, while the obstacles remain high. Even if they can win over voters and donors, independent candidates face huge institutional hurdles. Most states don’t have open primaries, in which the top vote-getters advance to a general election regardless of party. Instead, primaries are open only to voters registered in one of the two major parties, while independent candidates have to clear often-insurmountable barriers to get on the ballot. Runoffs are another issue in most states. As the system is set up now, a voter who doesn’t pick a Democrat or Republican risks essentially throwing away a vote for a distant third-place finisher….

...An instant runoff system essentially offers insurance. A voter could choose an independent first; if no candidate passed the 50 percent threshold, the last-place finisher would be dropped, and a voter’s second choice would count, alleviating the fear that one’s vote would be wasted. California’s Proposition 14, passed in 2010, creates a single primary from which the top two vote-getters go on to the general election. It’s a big step in the right direction, says Anderson, who hopes it will encourage others states to pass similar reforms. 

(From Did Joe Lieberman Screw Independents by David A. Graham, The Daily Beast) SEE BELOW

REDISTRICTING

• Redistricting commission is all about partisanship (EDITORIAL Central Jersey.com) Redistricting should be a nonpartisan effort — since the bipartisanship being manufactured by the 5-5 split of Democrats and Republicans on the commission isn't a cooperative venture. Instead it's a system of two parties trading off chips and balancing partisan demands. In the end, deadlock is virtually inevitable, and a 11th-member to serve as tiebreaker is appointed by state Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner. But even if that 11th member is genuinely independent, the negotiations leading to that tiebreaking decision will have already tainted any final product.
• Endangered Dems sound alarms about redistricting (AP, The Review - Ohio) But Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich is making the most noise as he enters his eighth term by actively shopping around for a new district… Several legislators, as well as new Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, have endorsed an effort by former New York City Mayor Ed Koch to create an independent redistricting commission. Such efforts have generally flamed out in the past, but widespread public disgust with New York's dysfunctional state government has given new credibility to Koch's crusade.

BALLOT ACCESS

• US Supreme Court Declines to Hear Ballot Access Case (Written By: MATTHEW CARDINALE, Atlanta Progressive News) As previously reported by APN, the Coalition for Free and Open Elections (COFOE), the Center for Competitive Democracy, and Free & Equal, filed a friend of the court brief with the SCOTUS in support of Coffield's final appeal, in which they outlined the failed attempts of all nine of Georgia candidates in 2010.
• U.S. Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Georgia Ballot Access Case (Ballot Access News)

CITIZENS UNITED

• Scalia, Thomas and Citizens United (By: Jeanne Cummings, Politico) To mark Friday’s anniversary of a court decision that allowed corporations to sink millions into politics, Common Cause, a reform group, is asking the Department of Justice to investigate alleged conflicts of interest involving two Supreme Court justices – in hopes of forcing the court to vacate the 5-4 ruling.

DEMOCRATS

• The trouble with Joe (By: Charles Mahtesian, Politico) The speed and arc of his political decline is stunning: In 2000, Lieberman won reelection to a third Senate term in a landslide, even as he spent the bulk of his time campaigning outside his home state as Al Gore’s running mate. By 2006, Lieberman couldn’t even win the Democratic nomination for his own seat. He was forced to run as a third-party candidate, winning with a bare 50 percent of the vote.
• Did Joe Lieberman Screw Independents? (by David A. Graham, The Daily Beast) The retiring senator suggested that free-thinking elected officials are doomed. But maybe Lieberman himself is the problem? Newsweek’s David A. Graham reports on the lawmaker’s record and the stacked deck against unaffiliated candidates.

REPUBLICANS

• Boehner touts poll citing Independent support for repeal (By Jason Millman, The Hill) A majority of registered Independent voters support the GOP’s effort to repeal and replace the healthcare reform law, according to a new survey from a Republican pollster.
• Independents Remain Steady In Support For Republican Plans To Repeal Health Care Reform Law (Resurgent Republic) Recent public polling has shown a slight positive bump in President Obama’s job approval, yet that increase has not closed the gap he faces among Independents on his signature domestic initiative.

NEW YORK

• A call for larger share of the pie (By JIMMY VIELKIND Capitol Bureau, Albany Times Union) "We are proud of the progress we made and we want to make sure we don't go backwards," said Sen. Liz Krueger, D-Manhattan. She was a strong proponent of rules enacted in July 2009 at the end of a month-long stalemate caused by the defection of two Democrats -- Pedro Espada and Hiram Monserrate -- to Republicans.
• The Union Threat to the Democrats' Future - Unless the party confronts its allies in the public-employee unions, it will continue to lose credibility with voters around the country. (By DOUGLAS E. SCHOEN, Wall Street Journal) If the Democrats want to be competitive in 2012, they must move decisively back to the center.

POLITICAL THEATER

• Local resident appears Off Off Broadway (North Jersey.com) Playing with philosophy, theatrical forms and storytelling, "Mr. Hirsch Died Yesterday" explores human identity and shared history when a Jewish writer named Fred meets an African-American woman named Freda and find they share more than childhood memories.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Kranz: The color purple-Some consider South Dakota's hue different when it comes to elections (Argus Leader)
• EDITORIAL: Independent voters (Washington Times) Much of the mystery surrounding independent voters has been revealed and the discovery, through polls, media coverage and intense study of the last two presidential cycles, is that independent voters are not that different from partisan voters. [NOTE: You gotta wonder what the Washington Times is so afraid of! -NH]

REFORM

• Our country needs redistricting reform (San Antonio Express-News)
• Take political districts out of the hands of politicians (The Desert Sun)
• Editorial: Keep supporting redistricting reforms in PA (Pocono Record)
• Five want Democratic nod in US House Dist. 8 race (Daily Commercial - Leesburg FL) It's all about reform...

CAMPAIGN
McCain needs Michigan independents to win Michigan (The Flint Journal News Service)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

REFORM

• Our president should support more direct democracy (By Joel S. Hirschhorn, Online Journal)
• SEIU: It's Time for Real Redistricting Reform (California Majority Report)
• Phil Power: It's time to amend the constitution (Livingston Daily - MI)
• State reform bid nears ballot (Detroit News)
• Alabama Ballot Access Case Filed (Ballot Access News)
• Another Illinois Constitutional Ballot Access Case Filed (Ballot Access News)

LOCAL INDEPENDENT NEWS

• MN: Barkley, U.S. Senate candidate, wants to fix 'broken' system (Echo Press)
• NC: Editorial: Expanding debate (Salisbury Post - NC) Third-party candidates often find themselves in a Catch-22 situation.

NEW YORK POLITICS/INDEPENDENCE PARTY
Goetz Is Thrown Off Independence Ballot (By Jonathan P. Hicks, NY Times/City Room)

SWING VOTE

• It’s hard to make a good political comedy without being political (The Virginian-Pilot) While it goes for warm chuckles rather than big laughs, it flip-flops as obviously as current, and past, political candidates. It has no guts. It avoids saying anything critical of either party and takes no stand.
• "Swing Vote" (Salon) [the daughter Molly] after asking him what his party affiliation is, she crisply informs him that he's registered as an independent, because "the two-party system has neglected the needs of the working poor."

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

REFORM: Budget Deficits, Redistricting, Initiative and Referendum, Electoral College, Ballot Access Reform

• CA: Is governor's pay cut threat just a big head fake? (Sacramento Bureau Contra Costa Times)
• CA: Would Prop. 11 help minorities? It takes redistricting away from the Legislature. Will minorities gain or lose? (LA Times)
• NY: Cut the Legislature-Plan to reduce number of lawmakers deserves support from officials (Buffalo News)
• The Far Left's War on Direct Democracy (By JOHN FUND, Wall Street Journal) A few words on Ward Connerly's anti-affirmative action activity
• Gov. Granholm likes part of Reform Michigan Government Now proposal (Michigan Live)
• Pennsylvania Senator Introduces Ballot Access Reform Bill (Ballot Access News)
• Maine Ballot Access Case Oral Argument in State Supreme Court (Ballot Access News)
• Dump the Electoral College? (Detroit Free Press LETTERS)

CAMPAIGN

• Bloomberg Wants Independents To Organize To Increase Power (JOE GANDELMAN, The Moderate Voice)
• John McCain takes my advice. (By mw, Donklephant) The Left of center blogosphere jumped all over it, called it a flip-flop, and completely missed the important point. Sure it was a flip-flop. But most Obama supporters cheered when Obama flip-flopped “moved to the center” on a whole host of issues. So let us just say that Maliki has permitted McCain to “move to the center” on Iraq. You know - where most of the voters are. With this move, McCain takes away the single biggest issue advantage that Obama has over him with moderate, centrist, independent and libertarian voters.
• Ralph Nader at UGA, criticizes Obama's corporate ties (By JIM GALLOWAY, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

REFORM

• Redistricting Initiative May Hurt Latinos, Blacks (Bell Gardens Sun - CA)


• EDITORIAL: Redistricting threatens incumbents (By North County Times)


• Reform proposal faces lawsuit-Group asks court to keep plan that would bring 28 sweeping changes to state constitution off ballot. (Detroit News)


• Nader to ask Pa. court to reopen presidential nomination case (Philadelphia Inquirer)


• All candidates should have access to ballot (News Herald - OH)

CAMPAIGN

• McCain gaining ground on Obama in Michigan, several other states (DETROIT FREE PRESS)


• Today's Polls: McCain's Gaining, But Why? (The New Republic/The Plank)


• FOX News Poll: No Bounce for Obama From Overseas Trip (Fox News)

MINNESOTA INDEPENDENCE PARTY

• Report: Bloomberg to tout McCain (NY Newsday) speaking at Minn IP fundraiser


• Bloomberg Calls for Action on U.S. Infrastructure (NY Sun)


• The Independence Party -- the party of what might have been (MinnPost)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

REFORM

• California redesigns voter registration card (San Jose Mercury News)
• Disenfranchisement of black voters (Hudson Valley Press)
• Ballot proposal worries Dems-Lawmakers' concerns grow over their party's role in controversial state reform initiative. (Gordon Trowbridge / Detroit News Washington Bureau)
• Michigan Power Grab (Wall Street Journal)
• Proposition 11 supporters gather money, poll backing (Politicker CA)

THIRD PARTY NEWS
Third-party candidates face deadline for WV ballot (West Virginia Public Radio) Bob Barr on the ballot in 48 states

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

CAMPAIGN
New G.O.P. Ad for McCain on Energy (NY Times/The Caucus) McCain the Maverick

REFORM

• Legitimate basis exists for open primary voting (Delaware online/The News Journal)
• Editorial: A lot of money is needed to fight redistricting lies (Mercury News Editorial)
• Run-off voting system would be beneficial (LETTER Kennebec Journal)

MINNESOTA INDEPENDENCE PARTY
Ventura watch: Does Bloomberg visit suggest a Senate run? (Minnesota Independent)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

CAMPAIGN

• Neither Obama nor McCain meets Energy Party standard (The State/Brad Warthens blog) John McCain and Barack Obama are lucky there’s such a thing as Republicans and Democrats in this country, because neither would be able to get the Energy Party nomination.
• Obama to set up shop in South Carolina-In unusual move, staff hopes to swing the state to Democrats (The State) The key, Fowler said, will be registering African-American voters, who vote Democratic about 90 percent of the time, and chipping off more white and independent voters.
• N.C. campaigns have seen little McCain cash (News Observer - NC) When the Libertarians lost party status, those voters became unaffiliated, though they should be able to reregister now that it is a party again.

REFORM

• Watering down the will of the voters (Denver Post) Perhaps the most egregious is Rule 7.E.6, permitting the IEC to dismiss a complaint when the same complaint is "pending before another body with concurrent jurisdiction."
• Mazzaglia: America's magic (MetroWest Daily News - Framingham MA) It was also Jefferson who would later initiate the formation of political parties which have become the focus of governmental power.
• Giving More Power To The People (By Susan Kniep, The Day) It is to the advantage of both conservatives and liberals to lobby for the passage of this referendum question. Upon its passage, Connecticut residents should then work for the right of Statewide Initiative and Referendum (I&R).
• Appeals court to revisit domestic partnership law-Some say petition signatures were unfairly discarded (Statesman Journal) The fund's lawyers have relied heavily on a 2003 decision by the 9th Circuit, which struck down Idaho's requirement for initiative signatures to come from 6 percent of voters in each of at least half the state's 44 counties.
• Defining Marriage Is At Heart Of Ballot Question (LETTERS Hartford Courant)
• Under charter, citizens take 'initiative'- It could lead to more referendums on local ballot (Sunday News Lancaster Online)
• HOME RULE 101: Article VI: Initiative and referendumSunday News (Lancaster Online)
• THIS ARTICLE RAN YESTERDAY: Op-Ed: 'Bipartisan' proposal faces criticism (BY JACK LESSENBERRY, Traverse City Record Eagle )
• Petitioners poised to submit ballot issue that chops Michigan lawmakers, judges and their pay (MichiganLive.com) If the Reform Michigan Government Now constitutional amendment does get on the ballot, voters would be asked to consider the most wholesale change in state government since term limits were approved for elected executive and legislative offices in 1992.
• Michigan Democrats express concern about government reform proposal (Gordon Trowbridge and Deb Price / Detroit News Washington Bureau)
• Socialists holding national event in Ann Arbor (The Ann Arbor News) "Ann Arbor has been a seminal location for larger radical movements in the United States, he said, referring to activity in the 1960s and '70s.