Arizona Independents Have to Pick a Party for Primary Vote

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Independent voters can't remain independent in primary (By Bud Foster, KOLD News 13 CBS) For the first time, the city of Tucson is holding an all mail in primary election. It's designed to save money and increase voter participation. But for the independent voter, it's an uneasy feeling. On May 25, the city clerk's office sent out a post card telling independents if they wanted to vote in the primary, they had to request a GOP, Democrat, or Green Party ballot. Nearly 8,600 have done so. But that leaves 61,000 who have not.
• Editorial: California's Republicans should stop whining, build the party (The Monterey County Herald) Since the last redistricting a decade ago, the Republican share of California voters has fallen by 4percent to less than 32 percent. The Dems' share also dropped but only by 1 point, to 44 percent. Twenty percent of registered California voters now call themselves independents, but that should drop when open primaries begin in June. The secret to keeping the GOP from becoming a third party of sorts is for it to offer up more moderate candidates and fewer partisans who pledge to vote the party line and to vote against any tax increases no matter how necessary or logical.
• Ron Bancroft: For Class of 1961, time running short to turn nation around (By RON BANCROFT, Portland Press Herald - OR) Such redistricting will likely lead to a better balance of both parties in more districts – a good thing that diminishes extreme partisanship. The single open primary now being used in the state of Washington is meant to do the same thing. In a single primary, all candidates contest on one ballot. The primary is open to all voters. The top two vote-getters go on to the general election. Again, the theory here is that those candidates who appeal to a broader range of voters are more likely to achieve top positioning.