Round-Up: California's First "Top Two" Primary Yields Less Party Control, More Independent Participation

Media coverage of California's first "Top Two" primary last week was somewhat varied, most grumbling about how it didn't produce the results that was hoped for and locked out 3rd parties...

Notable exception from Jason Olson, an activist with IndependentVoice.org in IVN: "[Last Tuesday's] vote showed what removing party control over the elections can do. We had a primary process that was about selecting the best leader to move California forward, rather than who was the best partisan to fight for their party. [F]ive independent (“No Party Preference”) candidates running for the California Legislature placed in the “top two” of their respective races and will advance to the general election to face an incumbent. Top Two Open Primary champion Abel Maldonado (R) will also advance.

The Hankster is a strong backer of Top Two, Open Primaries and Nonpartisan Municipal Elections and has campaigned vigorously for all.

Here is a round-up of commentary on California's primary last Tuesday:

• Independent Thoughts on CA’s Primary Results (By Jason Olson, IVN) Congratulations again to the voters who supported the Top Two Open Primary and Redistricting Reform measures in past elections. Yesterday’s vote showed what removing party control over the elections can do. We had a primary process that was about selecting the best leader to move California forward, rather than who was the best partisan to fight for their party.
  
• Dems dismayed by Assembly shutout (Written by Sean Janssen, The Union Democrat) Democratic Party leaders throughout the State Assembly 5th District were in a sour mood Wednesday as their party will have no representative on the Nov. 6 ballot for the legislative seat. Though there had been a handful of special elections for vacant offices in the state since voters approved the Proposition 14 “top two” primary in November 2010, Tuesday’s primary marked the first regular statewide election using the system.
• California’s Open Primary Costs Super-PAC $711,000 on Just One Race (By Ellen Uchimiya,
  Bloomberg/ Political Capital) That cash infusion seemed to help. Brownley and Strickland advanced after Tuesday’s primary. If this had been a closed primary, Brownley would have advanced anyway… and the House Majority PAC would have saved $711,000.
• Herdt: An election to confound Will Rogers (By Timm Herdt, Ventura County Star) Parties have infrastructure. Independents, who have to build their campaigns from scratch, don't stand much of a chance of competing against that — unless, like New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, they have bottomless personal wealth.
• California's election reform flops (By Joe Mathews, LA Times) Oh, well, But give the reformers credit; they did make change. In place of our old system, we got something that preserves many of our worst political traditions — while making things a little bit worse.
• California Dreaming: Why New Election Rules Won't Help Centrists (By Josh Kraushaar, National Journal/ Hotline On Call) Two national newspapers today reach dramatically different conclusions about the impact of California's new top-two election system, which was designed to help elect more centrists and undermine the party primary system that had long been in place. The New York Times concludes the open, non partisan primary served as a "splash of cold water" to those reformers who thought it would "bring a new wave of independent candidates and voters." The Wall Street Journal concluded the system worked, because finalists "now must search for support from independents and voters in other parties." Who's right?
• California Centrists See Their Stock Rise Open-Primary Results Show That Finalists Now Must Search for Support From Independents and Voters in Other Parties (By JIM CARLTON and JUSTIN SCHECK, Associated Press, Wall Street Journal) The state still leans heavily Democratic, with 43% of voters registered as Democrats in April, compared with 30% as Republicans and 21% with no party preference—up from 14% who said they were impartial 12 years ago. Appealing to those in the middle now becomes more crucial for candidates like Lois Capps, a liberal-leaning Democratic congresswoman from the state's Central Coast. Before, she rarely needed to reach out to conservative Republicans, said Bill Carrick, her campaign strategist. But after a centrist Republican named Abel Maldonado challenged her in a runoff, Mr. Carrick said Ms. Capps would reach out to the GOP base.
• Fletcher: No regrets after loss about leaving GOP (By JULIE WATSON, Associated Press, San Francisco Chronicle) New York Times columnist David Brooks called his bid a nationwide test case on whether it's possible to succeed as an independent alternative. That didn't happen Tuesday.
• California’s Nonpartisan Primary Shows Independents to Be in Short Supply (By JENNIFER MEDINA, New York Times) David Wasserman, who analyzes House races for The Cook Political Report, called the outcome in San Bernardino a “freak political accident,” particularly because President Obama is likely to win the area by as much as a double-digit margin.
• California electoral reforms yield no big changes (By JULIET WILLIAMS, Associated Press, San Francisco Chronicle) Voters mostly rejected the independent and moderate candidates that the changes were intended to bolster to reduce partisanship, instead sending nearly every state legislative and congressional incumbent forward to runoffs in November, in some cases against opponents in their own party. A few races remained too close to call Wednesday.
• How California’s Top-Two Open Primary Shrinks Voter Choice in Congressional Races in November (Ballot Access News) The San Francisco Chronicle’s story about the election returns is that the top-two system “shook up the system.” Actually, in every single congressional race in which one incumbent was running, that incumbent came in first. In the races with two incumbents running against each other due to redistricting, one of the incumbents always came in first and the other incumbent always came in second. As has been shown in Louisiana and Washington, top-two systems make it far easier for incumbents to be re-elected than normal systems do.
• Shift in voting rules shakes up primary elections (Carla Marinucci, San Francisco Chronicle) Californians were also voting for the first time for candidates vying to represent legislative and congressional districts drawn up not by gerrymandering politicians or the courts, but by a citizens' commission - the result of a ballot measure that voters passed in 2008, Proposition 11. Stark was one of several incumbents once considered invincible and now thought to be in danger of losing their jobs in redrawn districts.
• California voters mixed about new top-two primary (By Jim Sanders, Sac Bee) The new system also gives more clout to no-party-preference voters, whose ranks have jumped from 10.7 percent of California's electorate in 1996 to 21.3 percent today. Republican Abel Maldonado of Santa Maria, as a state senator, forced the top-two primary onto the 2010 ballot by making it one of several demands to Democratic legislative leaders in return for his pivotal vote to end an 81-day budget impasse in 2009.
• Independent Overview: CA Primary Preliminary Results (By Damon Eris, IVN) With 100% of precincts now reporting, it appears that California’s first statewide test of its new top two open primary system did not result in higher levels of voter turnout, as had been predicted by supporters of the system. Indeed, this primary election may be noteworthy for its historically low voter turnout in a presidential election year. Preliminary reports indicate that voter turnout across the state hovered in the 30-35% range, with the vast majority of eligible voters opting to stay home rather than head to the polls.
• California primary results: GOP catches a ‘top-two’ break (Posted by Aaron Blake, Washington Post/The Fix by Chris Cillizza) House Republicans got a big break under California’s new primary system Tuesday, after Democrats failed to get a candidate into the general election for Rep. Gary Miller’s (R-Calif.) swing district.
• As We See It: The independent party's over (EDITORIAL Santa Cruz Sentinel) California voters sent a crushing message to minor parties in 2010 when they approved the open primary for Tuesday's election. Because the new system sends the top two finishers in state races, regardless of party affiliation, onto the November ballot, this effectively ends the chances of the Green, Libertarian, American Independent and Peace and Freedom parties in those elections… Third parties nationally and minor parties in California have a purpose: To bring independent ideas and candidates to public attention. Their presence has been severely diminished, and it's a loss.
• Brad Breithaupt: Third parties left out of new 'top-two' primary (By Brad Breithaupt, Marin Independent Journal) With a dozen candidates running for Congress and seven vying for Assembly, voters hardly were denied a choice on the June 5 ballot. There was a variety of experience and politics to choose from, even though most of the candidates were Democrats.

Hankster News of the Day for Independents - June 6

• Meet the OutFront Political Strike Team (CNN/OutFront) IndependentVoting.org's Omar H. Ali is #2 - right after John Avlon, team also includes David Gergen and Linda Killian among others...
• Jason Olson: California's independent voters are big winners in Tuesday's primary election (Visalia Times Delta) Even before the first vote is counted, Tuesday's statewide primary election had a big winner: California's independent voters. For the first time in more than a decade, the votes of the state's 3.6 million independent voters (now called "No Party Preference") actually mattered in state legislative and congressional elections. The political impact on the state's elections has been dramatic.
  NOTE: This article also ran on The Hankster on Monday
• California voters mixed about new top-two primary (By Jim Sanders, Sac Bee) The new system also gives more clout to no-party-preference voters, whose ranks have jumped from 10.7 percent of California's electorate in 1996 to 21.3 percent today. Republican Abel Maldonado of Santa Maria, as a state senator, forced the top-two primary onto the 2010 ballot by making it one of several demands to Democratic legislative leaders in return for his pivotal vote to end an 81-day budget impasse in 2009.
• Incumbents advance in low turnout Calif. primary (Juliet Williams, RealClearPolitics) Feinstein, the 78-year-old incumbent Democrat, easily advanced to the general election, where she will face the next highest vote-getter. Elizabeth Emken, an autism activist who won the GOP's endorsement, had a healthy lead in a crowded field of 23 challengers, 14 of them Republicans.
• I don't like being told how to vote (LETTER Arizona Republic) Regarding the letter Saturday about America having a three-party system -- "(R)epublicans, (D)emocrats and (I)ndecisives": It was cute. It was also far from the truth.
• Senate teams clash over a schedule for debates Brown, Warren OK 2 on TV; rest in flux (By Noah Bierman, Boston Globe Staff) Mickey Edwards, a former Republican congressman from Oklahoma who owns a home in Hingham, said both sides are seeking public relations advantage. “They’re playing strategy games,’’ he said. “The feeling would be probably, OK, because Brown was the first to say, ‘I would do this,’ then the Warren campaign says, ‘Let’s call for more to make him look like he’s afraid of debates.’ ’’

Hankster News of the Day for Independents June 5

Today is Top Two Open Primary Day in California!

• Poll: Political independents outweigh partisans (JENNIFER AGIESTA, AP, Huffington Post) More Americans now call themselves politically independent than at any point in the last 75 years, according to a new poll. The survey also shows that those who do align themselves with a party are more ideological and have become more polarized than at any point in the last 25 years, particularly on issues important in this year's presidential and congressional campaigns.
• Partisan Polarization Surges in Bush, Obama Years/ Trends in American Values: 1987-2012 (Pew Research Center) But the growing partisan divide over political values is not simply the result of the declining number who identify with the party labels. While many Americans have given up their party identification over the past 25 years and now call themselves independents, the polarization extends also to independents, most of whom lean toward a political party. Even when the definition of the party bases is extended to include these leaning independents, the values gap has about doubled between 1987 and 2012.
• Forecaster Forum: An independent voter's plea to the parties (By Elizabeth Miller, The Forecaster Portland ME) At a panel discussion sponsored this spring by the Maine Festival of the Book, I found out that I am among the 40 percent of registered voters in our country not enrolled in a political party. Why am I “unaffiliated,” even when it restricts me to only general elections? Because neither side is charting a course that makes sense to me.
• Will California's nonpartisan primary result in more moderate candidates? - Under the new format, the two candidates for California office receiving the most votes will advance regardless of their party affiliation. Proponents say it will result in less partisanship. (By Daniel B. Wood, Christian Science Monitor) “Right now there’s just confusion,” says Barbara O’Connor, director emeritus of the Institute for Study of Politics and Media at California State University, Sacramento. She notes that 26 candidates are running against veteran Sen. Dianne Feinstein. “I talked to several who filled out absentee ballots who were dumbfounded at the configuration of the ballot. Those who habitually vote for a full party slate now have to actually read them to see who is in it.”
• Nonpartisan Primaries Face Test in California (By JENNIFER MEDINA, New York Times) This year, voters and candidates for the first time can choose to register with “no party preference,” a category that was once referred to as “decline to state.” Voters in the primaries can pick candidates from any party. 
• California’s Everybody-Into-the-Pool Primary Faces Test (By Michael B. Marois, Bloomberg Businessweek) “The rules of the game have changed,” said Kim Alexander, president of the California Voter Foundation, a Sacramento-based nonpartisan group that has advocated for open democracy. “Democrats and Republicans no longer have a lock on the process.” 
• Walker's lead in Wisconsin recall election tightens in new poll (By Rachel Rose Hartman, ABC News) According to PPP, Walker--who was targeted for a recall after waging war on state public employee unions in 2011--is winning among men, whites, seniors and residents of the Milwaukee suburbs. Barrett leads among women, minorities, young voters, and residents of Milwaukee county and greater Madison. Barrett is also winning independent voters 48 to 46 percent, a lead that is within the margin of error.
• Former Rep. Curry to run again for legislature (By Lynn Bartels, The Denver Post/ THE SPOT) Former state Rep. Kathleen Curry plans to petition to run as an unaffiliated candidate from House District 61, a move that could take votes from the Democrat who currently holds that seat.
• Bloomberg involved in San Diego mayoral race (Becky Yeh - OneNewsNow California correspondent) New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has officially announced his endorsement of California Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher for San Diego mayor. Bloomberg says Fletcher is a great choice because he is an independent. Fletcher left the Republican Party in March. Bloomberg left the Democratic Party in 2001, then abandoned the GOP in 2007 and became an independent.
• Independence Party's endorsement of breakaway Dems is a 'game changer' (By Amanda Verrette, Legislative Gazette) From a political point of view, said Klein, the Independence Party proves to be the "margin of victory." "Many candidates, if they had the Independence Party line two years ago, would be senators right now," said Klein.
• Barron's Big Boost - Will Towns's endorsement of Barron influence your voting decision in the primary? (By C. Zawadi Morris, Bed-Stuy Patch)

Hankster News of the Day for Independents - May 31

Top picks for today.

The title of the article contains the link to the original, followed by the author and publication, and then a snipit from the article. You can subscribe to this briefing by email at FeedBlitz or choose your favorite newsreader... 

• Independent Voters of America Launches, Dumping on Both Parties (BY Micah L. Sifry, techPresident) Wait a second, isn't that what the just-failed Americans Elect said it was going to do? Actually, no. Says Hillsman, "We are building the largest online community of self-identified independent voters, with the goals of bringing fresh voices and more choices into our politics, acting as a counterweight to the two major political parties, and to reduce gridlock, force progress and bring a new accountability to Washington." Americans Elect sought to create a ballot line for an artificially-engineered "centrist" presidential ticket. The plan with IVA, he says, is "to give self-identified independent voters a gathering place" and then "see where people want to take this."
• The “2nd largest Party” in Arizona, and Russell Pearce and Joe Arpaio supporters don’t want Independents to have an “open primary” (by Dee Dee Garcia Blase, Tucson Citizen/Hispanic Politico) As an independent voter …. I DO SUPPORT THE OPEN PRIMARIES! 
• As We See It: Not-so-open primary election (Santa Cruz Sentinel) Now it appears the only way party organizations can even have a voice is by making an endorsement early, which is what happened in the U.S. Senate race.
• Linda Parks, Open Primary, Stand in Democrats' Path in California (By Scott Bland,National Journal/Hotline) Despite that, Parks has national Democrats scared that she could cost the party a much-needed seat in Congress. As a moderate independent in a crowded race, Parks is positioned perfectly to take advantage of California's new all-party, top-two primary.
• Despite Pres. Nomination SD Has Plenty On Ballot (By Ben Dunsmoor,KELO-land TV) For the first time, registered Independent voters will be able to make their voices heard in a statewide primary. "We're the only party in the state that allows, not just allows but welcomes, Independents into our party to participate in our primary to vote and take an active role in deciding who the Democrat nominee is going to be in the general election," Nesselhuf said.
• Proposal aims to let voters pick their politicians (The Advertiser-Tribune, Tiffin OH) Among eight potential statewide ballot issues this November is a constitutional amendment that would create a non-partisan, independent citizens commission which would be responsible for drawing legislative and congressional boundaries in Ohio.
• CEO In Chief? A Business Background Is Rare For Presidents (By Jim Zarroli, WBUR Boston - NPR) Former Republican Rep. Mickey Edwards says many successful CEOs are good at big-picture thinking — understanding all the component parts of a problem. But Edwards also says that business and politics are very different endeavors, and that someone who succeeds in one won't necessarily do well in another. "To run around saying we must run government like a business is really a silly idea," Edwards says. "It shows a total lack of understanding of the purposes of government."
• Koch Prefers Kelly for Mayor, But Quinn 'Capable' (By Colby Hamilton, WNYC/The Empire) “The basic problem for most people who aren't committed to the existing candidates is a fear that they're all more left than what I think the city is or should be, and the fear that we might go back to the days of [former mayors John] Lindsay and [Abe] Beame and their predecessors with the city seeking to provide benefits that it's not capable of providing financially,” Koch said. “We're fearful--people like myself--that municipal unions will come back into power.”…. Koch said he believes next year’s election will come down to a runoff between Quinn and former city comptroller Bill Thompson.
• Staten Island Sen. Savino endorsed by state Independence Party (Tom Wrobleski/Staten Island Advance) Also endorsed by the party were Ms. Savino's fellow members of the breakaway Independent Democratic Conference (IDC): Sens. Jeff Klein (D-Bronx), David Valesky (D-Oneida) and David Carlucci (D-Rockland/Orange).
• IDC loves gets Indies, loves Morse, mocks Dems (by Jimmy Vielkind, Capitol bureau, Albany Times Union/Capitol Confidential) And both Klein and Savino reacted with some schadenfreude at news of a leadership struggle in the Democratic conference, which they left behind.
• Queens GOP endorsement sets the stage for rare Republican primary - Forest Hills lawyer Juan Reyes and Councilman Eric Ulrich set to face off (By Lisa L. Colangelo / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS) But the Queens Republican Party helped set that in motion last week when it announced the endorsement of Forest Hills lawyer Juan Reyes for the 15th District seat in the state Senate. Republican City Councilman Eric Ulrich, who has been at odds with the county GOP leadership, announced last month he was running to capture the seat currently held by Democratic state Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr. Queens GOP leaders had been eyeing Reyes for some time, while Ulrich decided whether or not to run.

Hankster News of the Day for Independents May 23

Today's Hankster picks for independent activists. The title of the article contains the link to the original, followed by the author and publication, and then a snipit from the article. You can subscribe to this briefing by email at FeedBlitz or choose your favorite newsreader... 

• The Texan (Semi-) Open Primary (By Shawn M. Griffiths, IVN) If all of the candidates in a race were on one ballot and the top two candidates, regardless of party affiliation, go on to the general election then it doesn’t disenfranchise any demographics. Republicans would vote for the Republican candidate they want. Democrats would vote for Democratic candidate they want, and independent voters would be able to vote for whoever they want.
• California's Ballot Experiment (Chris Weigant, Huffington Post) While the option will still exist to vote for a Libertarian or Green presidential candidate in November, they'll likely be the only representatives from their respective parties on the entire ballot, which, as I said, doesn't really sit right with me, because it smacks of second-class status for anyone not a member of the Democratic Party or Republican Party.
  Obama up 8 in Pennsylvania (Public Policy Polling) In a state where Democrats have a large registration advantage Obama wins if that holds true. It's a departure from some past polls that found him under even 70% of the Democratic vote, but conservative whites seem to be moving back toward him just as they did after supporting Hillary Clinton in the 2008 primary. Obama's also up 48-24 with Pennsylvania's small contingent of independent voters.
• Poll: Obama up big in swing-state Pennsylvania (By Jonathan Easley, The Hill) Independent voters have helped buoy Romney in recent national polls, but that’s not the case in Pennsylvania, where Obama leads 48 to 24. Obama also th edge among two of his most important constituent groups — women, with whom he leads 56 to 36, and young voters, with whom he leads 64 to 28.
• Pennylvania Poll: Obama Up 8, Doubles Romney With Independent Voters (TPM) A new poll of Pennsylvania from Democratic-leaning firm Public Policy Polling shows President Obama with an 8-point overall lead, 50 percent to 42 percent, built on large leads with women and independent voters.

Check out Independent Pennsylvanians!

California Independent Voter Organization Endorses Candidates for Congress in June "Top Two" Primary

Group says independent voters and their concerns about broken government key to election

IndependentVoice.Org, a statewide organization representing the interests of California's 3.6 million independent voters, today announced its endorsements of Congressional candidates Stacey Lawson (Democrat, 2nd District), Linda Parks (independent, 26th District), and Abel Maldonado (Republican, 24th District) for the June 5, 2012 primary. The candidates were selected based on their support for political reforms that empower independent voters like the open primary and redistricting reform.

“Independent voters will be an influential factor in many of California’s Congressional races for the first time in over a decade,” said Jason Olson, the Director of IndependentVoice.Org.

“Independent voters span the spectrum from conservative to moderate to liberal, but are unified around their belief that partisanship has broken our government and we have to fix it if we want to move the country forward. We’re proud to stand with candidates who support the kinds of reforms necessary – like open primaries and redistricting reform – that take power away from the political parties and return it to the people.”

The June 5, 2012 primary marks the debut of the open “top-two” primary where all voters – including independents (now referred to as “No Party Preference” voters) – are able to participate and vote for any candidate they choose. The two candidates receiving the highest number of votes then advance to a “run-off” style election in November. It also marks the introduction of election districts drawn by an independent commission rather than politicians in the State Legislature. IndependentVoice.Org was a key proponent in passing both changes via voter approved measures in 2008 and 2010 and is part of the national independent movement pushing for these changes around the country.

Abel Maldonado, a Republican who formerly served as Lt. Governor and a State Legislator, is running in the 24th Congressional District in Santa Barbara County. Maldonado’s budget deal in the State Legislature put the top two open primary on the 2010 ballot and he worked with IndependentVoice.Org for its passage. “I put the top-two open primary on the 2010 ballot, and I’m proud to have stood with IndependentVoice.Org to give 3.6 million independent voters the right to participate fully in our elections process,” said Maldonado. “I’m eager to help take these reforms across the country if elected as the Congressional Representative from the 24th District.”

Stacey Lawson, a Democrat, a businesswoman and first time candidate, is running in the 2nd Congressional District in the North Coast area. "I’ve worked to bring people from all sides of an issue together to get things done – that’s how I’ve been able to create hundreds of jobs and help small businesses grow," said Lawson. "Creating high-wage jobs and rebuilding the middle class is not a partisan issue. I look forward to working with independent voters and all Californians to put America back to work."

Linda Parks, a longtime member of the Ventura County Board of Supervisors recently re-registered as an independent voter in order to run for Congress in the 26th District. Parks  recently won the endorsement of the Los Angeles Times, and many political observers feel that she has the best chance of any independent Congressional candidate in the country to win her race. “We need to end the divisive partisan politics that is gripping our country and damaging our economy,” said Parks. “The polarization in Washington is not only hurting our nation, it is also hurting our future, and the way to stop it is simple. We need to elect people to Congress who will work with both political parties.”

Olson said IndependentVoice.Org was hoping to expand its candidate education and endorsement process in the general election. “With all the new changes empowering independents, this is an important pilot test to show what these reforms could mean for the rest of the country. We’re excited about these endorsements, and we’re already thinking about how to expand the influence of independent voters in the second round of elections.”


Joyce Dattner, Chair of independentvoice.org, congratulates California voters on passage of Prop 14 in 2010, giving independents the vote in the primaries