Kresky: California Open Primary Proposition 14 Would Help Third Parties

"It's particularly disturbing that at a moment when millions of independents are knocking at the door of an electoral process from which they are excluded, Ralph Nader and the third party movement would want to slam it shut." (From independent attorney Harry Kresky in Sunday's Sac Bee)

What was Ralph Nader thinking? The sometime Green/ sometime independent Presidential candidate who garners less than a percentage point of the vote in 2000, 2004 and 2008 now wants to Stop the Top Two, the popular open primary initiative that will be on the ballot in California June 8.... Thanks to IPR for the heads up about Ralph.

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Viewpoints: Should state adopt an open primary? Yes -- It would help third parties thrive where they now flunk ((By Harry Kresky, Special to The Bee)
• Viewpoints: Should state adopt an open primary? No -- It would hurt the GOP and reward mushy candidates (By Shawn Steel, Special to The Bee)
• Redistricting commission and open primary could end the bickering (THE DESERT SUN EDITORIAL BOARD)
• Open Primary Debate (B.J. Hansen, My MotherLode)
• Maybe We Should End Primary Elections (Bob Schieffer, CBS News) Response to Phil Keisling's oped in NYTimes Get Rid of Partisans
• To Reduce Partisanship, Get Rid of Partisans (By PHIL KEISLING, NY Times)
• Altered Consciousness: Tackling political partisanship by its roots (By Rick Alterbaum, The Brandeis Hoot - Brandeis University) Supports Louisiana style open primary

PROPOSITION 14

• Your Turn: Proposition 14 is a bad idea for California voters (By Richard Winger, Contra Costa Times) Prop. 14 would do great damage to the social fabric, because it would stifle dissident voices.
• For California, Yet Another Year of Decision (By: Alex Lemieux, Miller McCune) The first proposal under consideration is Proposition 14, which will be put to the voters on the June primary ballot. The idea behind this reform is to improve the ideological balance of the legislature by moving to a so-called open primary system.
• Election 2010: Libertarian running for Assembly has diverse mindset (By Dave Moller, The Union - Nevada County CA) Bryant is opposing Proposition 14, which would establish a system in which the top two vote-getters in primary elections would run off in general elections, with no one else in the race. “It cuts off third parties,” Bryant said. “People should have the right to vote for whatever party they want to.”
• Political Scientist Who Studies Polarization in State Legislatures Doubts that California’s Prop. 14 Will Curtail Partisanship (Ballot Access News)
• REVIEW: No Middle Ground-How Informal Party Organizations Control Nominations and Polarize Legislatures (Seth E. Masket, Univ of Michigan)
• The Buzz: Schwarzenegger ponies up for open primary measure (Fresno Bee)
• Schwarzenegger ponies up $500,000 for 'open primary' measure (Sac Bee)
• What Does Party Affiliation Mean for the Upcoming Election—How to Change It—What is DTS? (Dolores Barr, Editor and Publisher , OC180NEWS.com)

THIRD PARTIES

• Is the Time Ripe For Third-Party and Independent Bids? (By Stuart Rothenberg, Roll Call Contributing Writer, CQ Politics) Independent candidates for governor in at least three states, all of them in New England, are running serious races, and the number of credible non-major-party candidates could grow if Minnesota’s Independence Party nominates someone with serious credentials or personal resources.

OREGON

• Oregon should reconsider Top 2 primary system (The Daily News - Lower Columbia OR)

OHIO

• Crossover voters to be challenged (By Mark Niquette, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH) Voters in Ohio don't pick their party affiliation when they register; it is determined by the party ballot they request in a primary. If they don't vote in primaries or vote only on issues, they are listed as unaffiliated. They are free to request a partisan ballot without question.

PENNSYLVANIA

• Greta Browne -- Green Party platform reflects the common good (Morning Call) Reforms -- such as ranked voting (used in the Academy Awards) and open primaries (in Washington state and on the ballot this year in California) -- would allow third parties to garner the votes that represent the true popularity of their positions.

ALABAMA

• OUR VIEW: A bill would open the Alabama election ballot to independent, third-party candidates, but self-serving lawmakers prefer the status quo. (By Birmingham News editorial board)

RHODE ISLAND

• Linc listens and people like it (by John Howell, Johnston RI Sun Rise)

TENNESSEE

• County and state office seekers answer to Candidates Expo (Sara Shookman, WVLT - Volunteer TV, Knoxville) 2 independent Knoxville mayoral candidates

INDEPENDENT YOUTH

• Millennials do faith and politics their way (By Stephen Prothero, USA Today blogs) Politically, this same self-reliance drives young people into Unparties — outside-the-box movements such as the "Tea Party" (on the right) and the aborning "Coffee Party" (on the center-left). Whereas 25% of Millennials are religiously unaffiliated, 40% of registered Millennial voters refuse to call themselves either Democrats or Republicans.

Update: CA Proposition 14 - A Question of Democracy and Inclusion of Independent Voters

The latest round-up of news about California's open primary initiative, Proposition 14, which will be on the ballot June 8. Partisans showed their true colors last week with back-room deals and litigation on the ballot wording. Prominent independent attorney Harry Kresky's commentary on HuffPo "Words Matter" sheds lots of light on the nature of our democracy. And Phil Keisling, Oregon's former Sec. of State who went to bat for that state's Measure 65 which would have opened the primaries to voters who don't choose to affiliate with a party, has a neat idea to Reduce Partisanship in today's NY Times. Go Team Open Primaries!

OPEN PRIMARIES

• To Reduce Partisanship, Get Rid of Partisans (By PHIL KEISLING, NY Times)

PROP 14

• Open primary is going back to the future (Daniel Borenstein, Contra Costa Times)
• Editorial: Pérez's next act must be better than his opener (Sac Bee) Pérez was in charge when the Legislature's attorneys engaged in a ham-handed attempt to help a union and the Democratic Party win a suit to water down the open primary initiative, Proposition 14 on the June ballot. The effort largely failed in the courts, but not for a lack of trying.
• New speaker needs to shape up his act (Fresno Bee editorial) 
• Proposition 14 offers mythic solutions for California (San Diego Conservative Examiner, Robert Rische) The problem, however, is Independents already hold all the cards in elections.... Thus, it is hard to understand why this group of voters is continually viewed as being disenfranchised, simply because they choose not to identify themselves with any major party.
• Words Matter: Voters to Get Fair Wording of California Open Primary Initiative (Harry Kresky, Huffington Post)
• California Proposition 14: Rights of People vs. Rights of Parties (The Hankster's post on The Moderate Voice)
• C.A. Orders Slight Change in Proposition 14 Ballot Language (By KENNETH OFGANG, Metropolitan News-Enterprise)
• Open Primary Will Be on Ballot-Court Quashes Attempt to Derail Prop 14. (by NICK WELSH, Santa Barbara Independent)
• California Court of Appeals Upholds Proposition 14 Language (More Good News for Independent Voters) (POSTED BY NANCY HANKS, The Moderate Voice)
• CLARK v. SUPERIOR COURT OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY - Court of Appeals of California, Third Appellate District, Sacramento. (RAYE, J., Leagle.com)
• TAYLOR v. SUPERIOR COURT OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY - Court of Appeals of California, Third Appellate District, Sacramento. (RAYE, J., Leagle.com)

Challenge to the Oregon Independence Party:

Thanks to a comment from Dan Meek, an Independent Party spokesperson and Portland attorney, (an independent partisan par excellence...) for bringing attention to the issue in Oregon about open primaries relative to third parties.

With all due respect Dan, it's not that I'm not aware of the content of Measure 65, it's that I care more about involving voters than parties (including minor parties)in the democratic process.

I am a strong supporter of independent parties (in fact, I am the Secretary of the Queens County Committee of the Independence Party of New York. And just by the way, we allow non-partisans to vote in our primaries!)

As a registered Independence Party member, I call on minor parties (Libertarian, Reform, Independence, Green, etc. etc.) to support independent voters in this matter. I think this is an issue of democracy.

Will the Oregon Independent Party step up to the plate for independents???

Read more: Phil Keisling: Leading Oregon Toward Socialism (?!) in the news 2006

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Billings Montana Gazette Opinion: Face-to-face visits excite local voters (Billings Gazette) Montana has an open primary
• Guest column: Put Open Primary on November ballot (By Phil Keisling, The Daily Astorian)

OREGON
Watch the unaffiliated voters!

• Oregon turnout expected to top 1 million (The Oregonian)
• Oregon's Post Office Primary (Washington Post/The Trail)

NORTH CAROLINA
Ten years in North Carolina history (Asheville Citizen Times) Democrats still outnumber Republicans in voter registrations, but the most dramatic increase is in unaffiliated voters who often determine the outcomes of elections.