Today is primary day and 3.5 million Flori

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Can Florida Get Open Primaries? Idaho Gov Signs Legislation Requiring Partisan Registration

OPEN PRIMARIES

  • Retaking state: Floridians need to get active now (Stephen Goldstein, Sun Sentinel FL) 7. The "Open Primaries" Amendment would keep extremist candidates and party loyalists from hijacking primaries by allowing voters to take part in the process, even if they are not registered with a given party. Currently, primaries favor candidates who take radical positions to appeal to a party's base. But then, unless they lie, they can't win the general election when they need a broader, more moderate, appeal. Open primaries favor centrist, more electable, candidates.
  • GOP panel nixes call for closed primaries, Sponsor: Proposal prevents Dems from swaying rivals' races (Written by ERIK SCHELZIG, Associated Press, The Leaf Chronicle) The executive committee of the state Republican Party on Saturday voted down a proposal to require party registration to vote in Tennessee primaries.  NOTE: This AP article ran widely in local papers nationally
  • Eye on Boise: Otter says closed primary an imperfect compromise (Betsy Z. Russell The Spokesman-Review) Gov. Butch Otter has signed into law historic changes in Idaho’s election system, requiring, for the first time, that all Idahoans declare their party affiliation to vote in the state’s primary election. [NOTE: Independents filed appeal to the court decision in favor of Repubs closing the primary before this legislation went through.]

INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING

  • Redraw N.C. districts for voters, not for politicians - Process would be much better with nonpartisan commission. (Charlotte Observer)
  • A line can take funny twists in redistricting (By Jeanette Krebs, Patriot News) If history is any indicator, there will be legislative and congressional maps that protect incumbents and make it easier for one party to stay in control, and in some cases, divide up minority voters so they don’t outnumber white voters. Some hopeful signs, however, do exist that things might be done differently this time in Pennsylvania.

2012
Tea Party Reshapes New Hampshire Calculus - Movement Emerges as Wild Card for Republican Hopefuls In Presidential Primary Often Dominated by Independents (By JONATHAN WEISMAN, Wall Street Journal) A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll this month found tea-party support at a low ebb. Some 25% of respondents said they supported the tea party, down from 29% in February and 30% in November. The highest percentage on record, 67%, said they weren't supporters.

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