Indianapolis Star Op-Ed Advocates that All Parties Nominate by Convention, not Primary

The Indianapolis Star has this op-ed, advocating that all political parties, not just smaller ones, nominate by convention instead of primary. The op-ed is by Dan Drexler, state chair of the Indiana Libertarian Party. In Indiana, parties that polled 10% of the last election nominate by primary for most offices, although conventions are used for the lesser statewide executive posts. Parties that polled 2% of the last election nominate by convention for all office.


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Indianapolis Star Op-Ed Advocates that All Parties Nominate by Convention, not Primary — No Comments

  1. Why do there have to be party nominations at all?

    If it is wrong for taxpayers to finance nominating activities, why should they fund advertise the results of those private activities on the ballot? Why should they permit private organizations to kneecap potential candidates?

    Why not let anyone become a candidate for office. Hold a primary to winnow the field to two for the general election.

  2. The reason for party nominations is so that like-minded associations of voters can work together to choose the candidate who best represents their interests and ideas. That is why political parties exist in every free country in the world, except for a few countries with fewer than 100,000 population. Political scientists have been studying political parties for over 125 years and they are unanimous that free elections for national office require political parties.

  3. left/right parties for the last 6000 plus years.

    The *official* primary came along in the late 1880s due to the PARTY HACK top gangsters controlling conventions — via threats and bribes.

    Back to the EVIL past ???

    NO party hack caucuses,primaries and conventions.

    P.R. and nonpartisan App.V.

  4. Why does the state have to recognize these nominations?

    When it does, the state then becomes entangled in the process of determining who constitutes the political association, and which political associations are entitled to make nominations, and regulating the manner in which those nominations are made.

    Where did that figure of 125 years come from?

  5. James Bryce.

    The state doesn’t necessarily need to recognize the nominations. The state had nothing to do with party nominations before the the beginning of government-printed ballots. Parties nominated candidates, publicized the list, printed up ballots and made them available to any voter who want a party-printed ballot. No such thing back then as a petition, or a filing fee, or a declaration of candidacy. Complete freedom for any voter to vote for anyone he or she wished. And a far more vibrant party system back then.

  6. American Commonwealth was published before adoption of the Australian ballot. Britain did not put party names on government-printed ballots until recently.

    Before there were government-printed ballots, newspapers sometimes printed ballots, which might or might not reflect their editorial biases. That is where the practice of crossing out candidate names that you did not wish to vote for came from.

    When there were party-printed ballots, Toby Moffat’s and Elizabeth Holtzman’s grandfathers would go around disrupting distribution of other party’s ballots; and there would be ballot stuffing; and vote buying (no free lunch); and voters would keep their ballot close to the vest, since it might reveal which party ballot it was, such as blue or red printing.

    The best of both worlds is government-printed ballots, where candidates qualify with a modest fee or petition, and candidates might be permitted to indicate their political views. See Minneapolis or Washington or Nebraska or Louisiana or non-partisan elections elsewhere.

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