I support the Concept of a Single Open Primary Ballot with All the Candidates listed. But I think the Top-Two Candidates on the General Election Ballot should be increased to Top-Three using Ranked-Choice Primary Voting. Then for half the States, there should be Two Ballots: One for Party Members to include Party Elections, the other for non-Members without Party Elections.
Colorado: In 2016 Voters in Colorado Won a Major Victory by Passing Two Ballot Initiatives that Created an Open State and Presidential Primary. In order to Pass Constitutional muster, the Initiatives allow a Political Party to “Opt Out” of the Open Primary and hold a Private Caucus or Convention, at their own Expense, instead. After much speculation that the Colorado Republican Party might Opt-Out of Holding a Primary rather than allow Unaffiliated Voters to Participate, the GOP held a Public Forum to Debate and Vote on the matter. In the end, it wasn’t even close, as 67% of the Party Leadership opted to Bend to the Will of Voters and use the State Funded Open Primary. The message from Voters is clear: Open Primaries are the Law of the land in Colorado. The Parties, faced with the possibility of either accepting the New Reality or Committing Political Suicide, have chosen to follow the Voters’ lead. Now all Colorado Voters can Vote in a Primary Election, no matter what Party they choose to Affiliate or not Affiliate with.
Florida: There was a critical development in the Campaign for Open Primaries in Florida last week. After hearing testimony from dozens of Open Primaries Activists last Spring, the Constitution Revision Commission decided to hold a Hearing focused on the State’s Primary System. And on Wednesday Afternoon, Steve Hough, Director of Florida Fair and Open Primaries, drove to the Hearing, in Tallahassee, to Testify and deliver Copies of a 6,000-Signature Petition, demanding an Open Primaries Measure on the 2018 Ballot, to the Commission. The Commission, which is a Once-every-20-Years Process, like New York, tasked with offering Proposals for State Constitutional Amendments, is now contemplating what to put on the 2018 Ballot. In the interim, Steve and the Coalition in Florida plan to keep organizing the Petition, to add the Voices of Thousands more Floridians to the Effort, before the Commission makes its Final Decisions.
New Mexico: After a busy Legislative Session earlier this year, the Crew at Open Primaries has been anything but idle. Last month, they Co-Hosted a Panel on Election Reform, which featured prominent Academics and Elected Officials, as well as New Mexico Open Primaries (NMOP) Founder Bob Perls. While there were some differences of opinion on what Tactics should be used to fix New Mexico’s Political System, the Panelists all agreed that Open Primaries are Essential.
OKLAHOMA: The State’s Libertarian Party will soon decide whether to hold an Open or Closed Primary.
South Dakota: After coming within a few percentage points of Passing a Top-Two Open Primary on the Ballot last year, the South Dakota Open Primaries Team is back at it again, gathering Signatures to begin the Process of Qualifying for the 2018 Ballot. The Team has 1 Month left to gather 40,000 Signatures. Right now, they’re about halfway there, still a long ways to go. South Dakota Open Primaries is trying to Capitalize on the Strong showing last year, when
Hot Topic
A new Report by Harvard Business School, entitled “Why Competition in the Politics Industry is Failing America,” finds that “the current partisan primary system is perhaps the single most powerful obstacle to achieving outcomes for the common good.” Furthermore, it opines that “our political system has become the major barrier to solving nearly every important challenge our nation needs to address.” You can read the Full Report Here (pdf). Open Primaries Intern Stephanie Geier also wrote about the Report in her latest Blog Post.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
1 comment:
The South Dakota initiative in 2016 got 44%, not 45%.
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