The Independent View: Montana 2014 Top-Two Primary Referendum on the Ballot

State Senate Bill 408, a top legislative priority for Republicans, passed on a party-line vote during the final week of the 2013 session. The bill placed Legislative Referendum 127 on the 2014 ballot. The referendum asks voters to replace Montana's open primary election with a top-two primary.

The current open primary requires citizens to vote on a single-party ballot of their choosing and allows the top vote-getter from each political party, including third parties, to advance to the general election.

A top-two primary lumps all candidates into a single primary regardless of party affiliation and allows only the top-two vote-getters to advance to the general election.

Republicans have defended the measure as an effort to ensure that candidates who win the general election receive a majority of the vote instead of a plurality of the vote, which is sometimes the case in a three-way race between candidates from three different parties. However some feel, if LR 127 were approved, it would likely prevent third party candidates and independents from reaching a general election.

But Mike Fellows, Chairman of Montana's Libertarian Party, stated "The independent view is going to be wiped out because they'll never make it out of the primary".

Richard Winger of Ballot Access News says:

There are three states that have used a top-two primary, California (starting in 2011), Washington (starting in 2008), and Louisiana (starting in 1975 for state office and 1978 for congress, although it wasn't used in 2008 and 2010 for congress). There have been 85 instances in which a minor party member ran for federal or state office in a top-two election, and in which there were at least two major party candidates running. In all 85 cases, the minor party candidate did not place first or second and could not run in the general election. Mike Fellows is right; top-two is a method to smother minor parties.

But I think the large number of voters changing their registration to independent are looking for something else. They want the opportunity to vote for candidates not parties.

Under many open primary system, voters can only vote on a single-party ballot. Have you seen any open primary system that will allow me to vote on different party primary ballots so I can support my selected candidates? In many states and cities, winning the primary is the election.

But I think a Top-Two Primary is too restrictive, only allowing two candidates moving on to the General Election.

I would like to see a Blanket Primary where the winner from each major and minor party, independents, and write-ins, are on the General Election ballot.

I also think that all registered voters, who paid state taxes should be able to vote in the Primary. So no state should have closed primaries.

To resolve the party issue of Freedom of Association, the right to join or leave groups of a person's own choosing and for the group to take collective action to pursue the interests of members, parties should hold their own candidate selection process. Then on the Primary ballot, their preferred candidate can be indicated.

This would require a separate ballot whenever a party was holding party elections.

Let me know how you feel about changing our primary system.