News Headlines for Independent Voters: Today's Primaries Elections in Georgia, Colorado, Minnesota and Connecticut

 TODAY'S PRIMARIES

• What to Watch on Primary Day: Primary elections in Georgia, Colorado, Minnesota and Connecticut (Politico) NOTE: 

   Independents can vote in primaries in GEORGIA.
   Independents can vote in COLORADO, but you have to pick a party, and then you have to switch back...
   Indies can vote in MINNESOTA, but you have to pick a party...
   Independent voters cannot participate in primaries in CONNECTICUT.
     [See The Hankster Open Primaries page]

• GOP Strategist: Election to Be Won in the Middle (CBS News)
• Voters line up to cast ballots early (Fox News Tampa Bay) Florida is a closed primary state, meaning voters can only cast ballots for candidates in their registered party; independent voters can still vote in non-partisan races.
• Primary sprint to the finish: Bennet, Romanoff make Monday visits to Springs (WAYNE HEILMAN, The Gazette Colorado Springs) Colorado holds closed primaries, meaning only voters affiliated with political parties can vote in them. However, independent voters can jump in at the last minute by claiming a party affiliation at the polls.
• Linda McMahon widens lead in Connecticut GOP Senate race (HULIQ) The latest Quinnipiac University poll shows McMahon narrowly leading Blumenthal, 46 to 44 percent, among independent voters; three weeks ago, Blumenthal enjoyed a 19-point lead over McMahon among this group.
• On primary eve, Margaret Anderson Kelliher revs up election buzz before, during and after final debate (by Doug Grow, MinnPost) Kelliher also made her appeal to potential voters, saying she would be the party's strongest candidate in November because only she can appeal to independent voters and even moderate Republicans.

COLORADO

• Curry files lawsuit over finance rules (Aspen Times) Gunnison Rep. Kathleen Curry, whose district includes Aspen and Pitkin County, argues in the lawsuit that the state's campaign finance rules are unconstitutional and restrict how unaffiliated candidates raise money. That's because the major party candidates can collect the maximum contributions twice — once for a primary and again for the general election — but unaffiliated candidates can receive the maximum contribution once for the general election because they don't stand in primaries, according to the lawsuit.
• Write in the independents (LETTER Glenwood Springs Post Independent)

NEW YORK

• Independence Party chairman Dote indicted (By ROCCO LaDUCA, Observer-Dispatch) Independence Party chairman Dote indicted
• MALTESE FOR ELECTION BOARD (Queens Courier) Endorsement
• Morano Strikes Back (YNN/Capital Tonght) It wasn’t enough for longtime Independence Party activist and ex-state committee member Frank Morano to quit the party and publicly lambaste it on his way out the door, now he’s trying to get the organization investigated by the Board of Elections, claiming its coffers have served as a sort of piggy bank for the personal interests of its leaders.

NYC CHARTER REVISION

• Charter panel won't address local control (Peter N. Spencer, SI Advance) Non-partisan elections -- a pet issue for Bloomberg -- still has a chance on the ballot. Nonpartisan elections eliminate party primaries and let anyone run for city office in an open September election, with the top two finishers facing off in a November election.
• Mayor Bloomberg to end nonpartisan election push - $7 million later (BY ADAM LISBERG, DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF)
• Mayor Bloomberg + Nonpartisan-Elections Push = Splitsville (BY CELESTE KATZ, Daily News/Daily Politcs)
• NY1 Exclusive: Bloomberg Won't Seek To Eliminate Political Primaries (By: NY1 News)
• Independent Report on Nonpartisan Elections from New York City: The Media, the Mayor and the Message (POSTED BY NANCY HANKS, The Moderate Voice)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS 8/5/10

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Afghan War Looms As Electoral Problem (John Zogby, Forbes) Democratic and independent voters are most skeptical about the Afghan War, making it a potentially huge electoral problem for Obama.
• Blacks & Whites Divided on President Obama's Approval Rating; First Lady Rates High (Posted by Bridgette Outten, Politic365)
• Blacks and Whites Continue to Differ Sharply on Obama (by Frank Newport, Gallup)

OPEN PRIMARIES

• The Complications of Tennessee’s Primary Voting System (By Jesse Fox Mayshark, Knoxville News Sentinel/MetroPulse) Tennessee is an "open primary" state where unaffilated voters can choose a primary ballot, however, A separate section of the code allows for a challenge to any voter’s right to participate in a primary, “on grounds of party membership.” In other words, if you want to vote in the Republican primary, but somebody thinks you are not really a Republican, you could theoretically be blocked from casting a ballot. 
• Crossover voting law muddies primary waters (By Michael Cass, THE TENNESSEAN) Tennessee's party primaries are open to all comers, creating openings for opposition-party maneuvering that could skew results and scramble the state's political landscape.
• EDITORIAL: Primary is next Tuesday; here's a primer (Hutchinson MN Leader) In Minnesota, we have what’s called an open primary. Voters receive one ballot listing candidates of all parties — but they must remember to vote for candidates of only one party. Selecting candidates from more than one party will disqualify a ballot. We prefer open primaries because voters should be able to chose the best candidate in privacy. Asking an election judge for a specific party’s ballot greatly diminishes that privacy.
• Missouri Vote Repudiates Healthcare Law (By: Sean Lengell, NewsMax) In Missouri's open primaries, voters do not have to register their party affiliation, and far more people picked Republican ballots than Democratic ones Tuesday.
• State should adopt open primaries (LETTER Lower Hudson Valley) Let's get a petition of our own going. Let's call for open primaries in New York state. This will allow every registered voter to vote in any one primary of their choosing. Twenty five states have some form of this system. Let's put an end to the smoky backroom deals that pre-select our local officials and make a mockery of the Democratic process.

THIRD PARTIES

• MD: Independent Party is no more in Md.- Some voters will become unaffiliated unless they act (By ALAN BRODY, Southern Maryland News) The state board voted on June 3 to dissolve the Independent Party due to its dormant campaign finance account, leaving all those previously registered with the party free to change their registration to one of the five recognized political parties (Democratic, Republican, Green, Libertarian and Constitution) or do nothing and be classified as unaffiliated.
• OR: Independents choose Bruun over Schrader for Congress (BY KARA HANSEN, The West Linn Tidings)

CONNECTICUT

• Independents flocking to Linda McMahon in Connecticut Senate race (By Felicia Sonmez, Washington Post/The Fix)

NEW YORK

• Maltese BoE Candidacy Likely To Swing Top Job To Democrats (By Edward-Isaac Dovere, City Hall News)

NYC CHARTER REVISION

• Charter Staffer Outreach To BoE Becomes Flashpoint For Commissioner Dispute (By Edward-Isaac Dovere, City Hall News) Scissura said, when informed of the call. “It just goes to the fact that unfortunately, the executive director of the commission has misused the great talents of 15 great commissioners. And that’s something I’m really saddened by.”
• Councilman Would Love Three Terms For City Pension (Gothamist)
• Councilman Not Shy About Retiring (By MICHAEL HOWARD SAUL, Wall Street Journal) Howard Rubenstein, a spokesman for Ron Lauder, who led the movement to introduce term limits in the city, said officials "should serve because they love and want to help the city and not because of personal gain through their pension."

I'm an Independent Voter - Can I Vote in the Primary in Kansas, Illinois, Connecticut, or Arizona??

KANSAS -- Yes you can!
From the De Soto Explorer:
Voters affiliated with a political party who want to participate in another party’s primary must change their affiliation by Monday. But independent voters can change their affiliation on Election Day. Independent voters can also participate in the Democratic primary without changing their affiliation.

*****

ILLINOIS -- Uhhh, well yes, but then you become one of them, but then you can unaffiliate... but then everyone knows what ballot you chose...

From FairVote

"Must vote in primary of same party as last primary the voter participated in. Loosely enforced.  Voters may change party affiliation at polls or caucus." 

The big hoopla going on right now in Illinois re: the gov race is that voters feel their jobs can be threatened if they don't vote in the primary according to the party in power. Gov Pat Quinn just used his veto power to set up an open primary (we'll see what the legislature does with that). Quinn's independent challenger Scott Cohen also supports open primaries. 

Chicago Tribune's Eric Zorn says: "Under Illinois' system, voters effectively register their affiliations when they ask for party ballots. But either way, the information becomes known to the world — or at least to the party operatives who use it to target direct-mail campaigns, get-out-the-vote efforts and so on."  Read more Zorn here.

*****

CONNECTICUT -- No!

From Damon Eris at Poli-Tea

Connecticut has closed primaries. Thus, almost half of all registered voters will be ineligible to vote in the major party primaries, whose nominees will therefore be decided by a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of registered voters.... 

Rather than open the primary system, however, Connecticut's political establishment has instead chosen to begin brow beating voters to register with the Democratic and Republican parties. Late last week, Democratic Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz held a press conference (.pdf) with leaders of the state's Democratic and Republican party establishment to demand that voters give up their independent affiliations and enroll in the Democratic and Republican parties ahead of the primaries. From the press release:

Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz today urged unaffiliated voters across the state to enroll with the Democrat or Republican Party by August 9th at 12:00 p.m. so they can vote in the statewide primaries Tuesday August 10, 2010. Connecticut's closed party system does not allow unaffiliated voters to cast ballots in the primaries, therefore unaffiliated voters must enroll as either Democrats or Republicans to cast a ballot in the primaries....

*****

ARIZONA -- Yes you can (at the state level)!

From Arizona Republic

In Arizona, independent voters can choose to participate in a partisan primary.... One of three Arizona voters is registered as independent. That large swath of Arizonans shouldn't be silent when their voices can make a difference. Unfortunately, many independent voters mistakenly believe that they're shut out of party primaries. They used to be. But 12 years ago, Arizona voters approved an open-primary system that lets independents participate in all but presidential primaries. (Parties set up their own presidential-preference systems.)
NOTE: Arizona independents are not allowed to vote in partisan primaries for President.
From OpenPrimaries.org
In February, Democratic Party legislators introduced HB 2579, which provides that a voter who is registered as independent, or as “no party preference,” may vote in any eligible party’s presidential primary, unless that party tells the Secretary of State otherwise at least 85 days in advance of the primary.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

CAMPAIGN

• What do New York Voters Want Hillary Clinton to do? (Political Lore) And with the all important independent voters, 19% want her to be the candidate, 43% want her to remain in the Senate, 4% want her to run for Governor. 2% want her to run for Mayor and 33% want her to go away...
• Overview of Black Presidential Candidacy (Black Voice News)
• Nader submits petitions for Nevada presidential ballot (Reno Gazette Journal)

REFORM
Oregon "top two" primary; Connecticut constitutional convention for initiative and referendum; Michigan -- who's really behind the reform efforts?

• Oregon ballot could see 10 initiative proposals (The Oregonian)
• Power Mustn't Fall Into The Wrong Hands (Hartford Courant)
• Tyranny Masked As Populism (LETTER Hardford Courant)
• Coalition pushes for constitutional convention (Hartford Courant)
• Michigan group fighting to change state constitution (Toledo Blade)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Colorado: Shooting from the political wings-Bill Hammons talks up his third-party candidacy for the 2nd CD (Boulder Daily Camera)
• 2 bills seek to change how Colorado's electoral districts are drawn (THE GAZETTE) would force parties to appeal to unaffiliated voters
• Official predicts Connecticut voter registration could reach 2 million (Newsday) 8000 new unaffiliated voters
• North Carolina is shaping up as vital for Clinton, Obama (Times-News) During January and February, 42,791 people statewide registered to vote as Democrats, compared to 30,681 who registered as unaffiliated voters and 26,873 people who registered as Republicans.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

HANKSTER LEDE: An Independent Shut Out Of A Defining Choice (Hartford Courant)

MARYLAND: Confusion, bad weather and late starts plague primary voting (Business Gazette MD) independents show up to vote, turned away

LOUISIANA: Congressional Elections, Barack Obama (BayouBuzz) March 8 Dem primary open to independents

POLLS: Some Reflections on Polling in the Primaries (RealClearPolitics HorseRaceBlog)

THE CAMPAIGN: Clinton seeks swift reply to Obama onslaught (AP) * Campaign Trail Leads To Texas, Wisconsin (CBS) * After Potomac Sweep, Can Obama’s Momentum Be Stopped? Clinton’s Determined to Try (By: Michael H. Cottman, BlackAmericaWeb.com, and Associated Press) * Is It Too Late for Hillary? (Time Magazine)

WASHINGTON: Basking in Obama's glow (Joni Balter, Seattle Times)

OHIO: All eyes on Ohio (By STEPHEN ORAVECZ Tribune Chronicle) Obama has drawn a lot of independent voters, but they may be closed out in Ohio’s closed primary.

PENNSYLVANIA: 93,000 independents may not know they can't vote April 22 (Philadelphia Daily News)

SUPERDELEGATES: Democratic Super Delegates Guided By Voters, Not Backroom Deals (Bloomberg) * The Role of the Superdelegates: Could They Thwart the Choice of a Majority of Democratic Primary Voters? (By EDWARD LAZARUS, FindLaw)

REPUBS/CONSERVATIVES: Gingrich: There’s No Reason For Voters To Keep Republicans In Power (News Hounds)

Connecticut: New London charter review?

On March 13, the voters will decide whether to have a directly elected mayor granted concentrated powers.... (The Day)

Open Primaries Benefit Independent Voters

OPEN PRIMARY OPTIONS

* Virginia: GOP committee wants to avoid open primary (Freelance Star) because Dems and independents would determine the Repub candidate in an open primary situation...

* Connecticut: Lieberman should have been required to submit independent sigs before the primary (Norwich Bulletin) -- some independents protested Lieberman's signatures even AFTER the primary as not by the book -- See: Jacqueline Salit in the press during September 2006: ..."There is mounting concern among independent voters in Connecticut that Mr. Lieberman's so called 'independent candidacy' is a fraud on the voting public," states Salit. "He is not an independent, but is rather a Democrat who availed himself of an escape hatch in state Election Law allowing to reinvent himself as an 'independent-in-name-only' candidate after he lost his own party's primary."...

Connecticut: Independent Party in Norwalk

Scott Merrell, a homeowner in the Wilson Point section, is collecting signatures to start a new Independent Party in Norwalk and expects to finish by the week's end.... (Stamford Advocate)