The Independent View: If You Can’t Pass an Open Primaries Initiative, Maybe Just End Them

First, New York tried to open the primaries to all voters by getting a ballot proposition, and lost 2 to 1. Then California and Washington successfully passed Top Two Open Primaries, which I do not like because it is too restrictive. Then this election cycle, Oregon got Top Two Open Primaries (PROP 90) on the ballot but also lost 2 to 1.

So what is next?

I attend a “Why Don't Voters’ Vote?” discussion, and after the event ended, a State Commissioner of the Board of Elections said “It’s time to get rid of primaries.”

Then I read this article, “Some States Will Ditch Electronic Voting Machines this Election”, that indicated:

Some states have abandoned electronic voting machines, ensuring that their voters will be casting their ballots by hand on Election Day. With many electronic voting machines more than a decade old, and states lacking the funding to repair or replace them, officials have opted to return to the pencil-and-paper voting that the new technology was supposed to replace. According to Pamela Smith, president of election watchdog Verified Voting, as many as 70 percent of voters will be casting ballots by hand on Tuesday.

That could lead to the beginning of using mail-in ballot voting systems. It removes the need for polls, poll workers, and electronic voting equipment. The state would only have to purchase electronic vote counting systems and still have the hard copy ballot for a manual recount.

So I came up with the following requirements for a different voting solution:

1. All registered voters should take part in the election. Their taxes paid for its running.

2. It should not stress a state’s budget.

3. It must comply with HAVA requirements.

4. It should resolve who won without a run-off.

So after reviewing existing state primary systems, I found Louisiana and it meets 1 to 3 above.

Since 1977 state elections in Louisiana have used a jungle primary system, which in Louisiana has become known as an "open" primary, where all the candidates for an office run together in one election in November. If someone gets a majority, 50% + 1, that individual wins outright, otherwise, the top two candidates, irrespective of partisan affiliation, meet in a runoff election in December. The jungle primary is used for state, parish, municipal, and Congressional races, but is not used for presidential elections.

The December Run-Off happens more often with open seats, as incumbents more easily win majorities. The runoff constitutes the general election under Louisiana law. The only labels originally permitted under the Louisiana law were Democrat, Republican, and No Party; however, as of 2008 the labels of any "registered political party" may be used. The primary has been used in statewide elections since 1975. The system was designed by then Governor Edwin Edwards after he had to run in two grueling rounds of the Democratic Primary in 1971 before facing a general election against a well-funded and well-rested Republican, Dave Treen, who himself was elected governor under the new system in 1979.

The nonpartisan blanket primary was never used for presidential primaries in Louisiana because national party rules forbid it.

Starting in 1978, U.S. House and Senate elections were switched to the nonpartisan blanket primary format. Yet this system was held to be in violation of federal law when used for congressional elections in 1997 by the U.S. Supreme Court in Foster v. Love. After the decision, Louisiana moved the congressional primary date to November and the run-off to December in order to keep the nonpartisan blanket format. However, any congressional race involving a general election runoff meant the winning candidate lost seniority to those members elected in November on the national Election Day, leaving Louisiana's freshmen saddled with inferior office space.

Since Louisiana's primary is virtually identical to the Washington state primary system which has been upheld by the Supreme Court in 2008 in Washington State Grange v. Washington State Republican Party, it thus remains constitutional.

Using Rank-Choice Voting would remove the need for the run-off. With this change, I found the system of voting I have been looking for.

WHY USE RANKED-CHOICE VOTING?

It reduces the number of elections, allowing voters to select backup choices instead of returning months later for a low-turnout runoff election. It allows people to cast ballots for preferred long-shot candidates without worrying about a spoiler effect. It allows voters to vote for favorite sons and daughters, vanity candidates, but not waste their vote.

Sample Ballot with Rank-Choice Voting Format