The Los Angeles Daily News of January 3 has this op-ed on the California “Top-Two Open Primary” Ballot Measure that will receive a vote in the June 8, 2010 primary election.
The Los Angeles Daily News of January 3 has this op-ed on the California “Top-Two Open Primary” Ballot Measure that will receive a vote in the June 8, 2010 primary election.
Primary Turnout:
1994: 4967K
1998: 6207K Up 25.0%
2002: 5286K Down -14.8%
2006: 5269K
1998 remains the high water mark for voters participating in a gubernatorial year primary.
1996: 6082K
2000: 7883K Up 29.6%
2004: 6684K Down 15.2%
2008: 4550K * (split from presidential primary)
2000 remains the high water mark for voters participating in a presidential year primary. In 2000, the presidential primary was also a blanket primary, so turnout may have been due to voters cross-over voting for John McCain, who was perceived as being more moderate than George W Bush.
The participation effective was particularly pronounced among independent (DTS) and minor party voters. DTS voters increased by 77.4% between 1996 and 2000, American Independent voters increased by 85.1%, and Libertarian voters increased by 122.3%.
California conducts many of its county and local elections and votes on propositions at the partisan primary (Prop 13 was approved at a June 1978 primary). While independent voters and minor party voters are permitted to vote in these elections, they may not be as aware of that right, or the ability to vote for local officials or some initiatives might not be enough motivation. Meanwhile, Democrats and Republicans who came out to vote in a gubernatorial or presidential race are more likely to continue marking choices for propositions and local offices.
Cleo Fields was filmed by the FBI accepting $20,000 in cash from Edwin Edwards which he stuffed in his pants. While Fields may be an able politician, it is not clear that he is honest.
Elections where a voter may exercise a choice whether they participate in a primary are often difficult to administer.
In Washington’s 2004 gubernatorial primary, conducted using the pick-a-party system where each voter picks their party in secret by marking it on the ballot, over 10% of voters failed to effectively cast a ballot for governor. The Libertarian party had its only primary ever in Washington, and had a contested two-person race for the gubernatorial nomination. 15% of voters who marked that they were Libertarian failed to vote in the top of the ballot race between two Libertarians.
Louisiana now employs a lockout device on its voting machines to prevent voters from voting in congressional primaries, while permitting them to vote in other races on the ballot. The election judge manually switches the setting based on the party affiliation of the voter. Because of physical limitations in the device, the Louisiana legislature considered preventing minor parties from nominating congressional candidates. The minor parties essentially had to promise not to have contested primaries (in Louisiana, if only one candidate files, then the election contest does not appear on the ballot).
The Louisiana system also likely violates the constitutional guarantee that voters who are eligible to vote for the larger house of the legislature are eligible to vote for US representatives and senators.
In the 2008 presidential primary in California, votes were cast in Los Angeles County where it was impossible to definitively tell whether a ballot had been marked for a Democratic or American Independent candidate.
#3: A major factor in voter confusion in 2004 in Washington state had to be that state’s long history– since the 1930s– with the blanket primary. In that system, of course, the primary voter could cross party lines from office to office.
“In 1995, the two [Louisiana] gubernatorial candidates who placed first and second were Mike Foster and Cleo Fields. Foster was a conservative Republican… . Fields [D] was a 32-year-old black state legislator who had supported Jesse Jackson for president in 1988. Both were talented and honest politicians, but neither was a moderate.”
Actually, Fields in 1995 was a member of the US House, representing that crazily-drawn district that was later eliminated. He today is a state senator.
Foster, age 65 and a lifelong Democrat, switched to the Republicans shortly before he was elected governor. Sort of like joining the church one Sunday and then getting elected chairman of the board of deacons the next Sunday.
“In 1991, the two candidates who placed first and second for governor, and who thus qualified for the final round, were [ex-Ku Klux Klan] leader David Duke and former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards, who may have been moderate but later went to prison for corruption.”
Duke also later did a stretch in federal prison, and Edwards, of course, is still there (four terms in the governor’s house… one term in the Big House).
Notably, in that 1991 race, the national Republicans and the state GOP endorsed different candidates, neither of whom made it to the second round.
#3: “The Louisiana system also likely violates the constitutional guarantee that voters who are eligible to vote for the larger house of the legislature are eligible to vote for US representatives and senators.”
Louisiana’s legislature, of course, is elected on a nonpartisan basis, while there are now party primaries for the US Congress. The Democrats invite independents to vote in their congressional primaries, while the Republicans do not.
Independents are eligible to vote in the general election for Congress, along with all other voters. Independents have no business participating in a party’s primary– its candidate-selection process– unless that party invites them to do so.
If a change is needed, it would be to reinstate party primaries for Louisiana’s state elections.
#7 The majority opinion in Tashjian clearly agreed that the constitutional provisions regarding voter eligibility apply to primary elections.
However, they found in the case of the Connecticut Republican party that because the franchise was broader for congressional elections than for legislative elections, it was somehow OK. Of course, Justices Stevens and Scalia totally disagreed on this point.
The State of Louisiana has erected a system of partisan nomination for Congress, which has the effect of abridging the right of voters to vote at an election for representatives in Congress, and employees mechanical lockout devices to enforce this deliberate disenfranchisement. If Article I, Section 2; the 14th and 17th Amendments are to have any meaning, then all Louisiana representative and Senator Landrieu should be booted from Congress, and Louisiana’s congressional representation and number of presidential electors be reduced in proportion to the share of independent voters in the State.
The remedy is not to take away the right of voters to participate in the election of their legislature – but rather to re-enfranchise voters whose right to vote was taken by the efforts of Cleo Fields and others.
ALL prior election results are absolutely meaningless.
Every election is NEW and has ZERO to do with any prior election — some NEW voters, some DEAD voters (except in places like Chicago), some MOVED voters, some SAME voters NOT voting (for whatever reasons).
P.R. and A.V. — NO primaries are needed.
#8: “The State of Louisiana has erected a system of partisan nomination for Congress, which has the effect of abridging the right of voters to vote…”
In 49 states– all but Washington– each party has the power to officially nominate congressional candidates.
In 47 states– all but Washington, Louisiana, and Nebraska– each party has the power to officially nominate candidates for the state legislature.
That’s a lot of cases of “abridging the right of voters.”
I keep wondering, Jim, when you’re going to contact the first Texas legislator about refranchising you and all those other poor, downtrodden citizens in the Lone Star State.
#10 Louisiana is the only State that prevents voters who are eligible to vote for their state legislators from voting for their US representatives and senators.
Louisiana actually has a lockout switch on their voting machines to prevent this. So let’s say there is a congressional primary, and a special election for the legislature. A voter goes to vote, but the election judge intervenes and adjusts the lockout switch, with the cordial explanation, “Wouldn’t want you to get in any trouble for voting for your congressman.” The voter, perhaps relieved that he wasn’t going to be sent to join inmate Eddie, then proceeds to vote in the special election for the legislature.
Washington uses the same system for electing federal legislators that it does for state legislators.
While Nebraska uses different systems for its legislature and Congress, all voters who are eligible to vote for their legislators are permitted to vote for their US representatives and senators, even if the voter has no party affiliation.
#11: You’re comparing apples to oranges, since Louisiana’s state legislative elections are nonpartisan. Independents are eligible to vote in Democratic congressional primaries but not Republican congressional primaries. Independents are indeed eligible to vote for Congress in November, when US senators and representatives are actually elected to office.
If a Louisiana voter wants to participate in the Republican congressional nominating process, he should register as a Republican. It’s not really complicated, is it?
Washington state, unlike Louisiana and Nebraska, does not register voters by party.
#8 In California about half of the voters are permanent by mail voters, where before each election a ballot is automatically sent to the voter.
But for a primary election, an independent (Declined To State) vote may be permitted (at the discretion of each party) to vote a party ballot which contains both the races for partisan nominations, but non-partisan races for state, county, and municipal officials, and ballot issues.
So before county election officials can send a voter a ballot, they have to determine whether the voter wants to vote a partisan ballot. So they send him a form, that says “I am not presently affiliated with any political party. However, for this primary election only, I request a vote by mail ballot for the ____ Party.”
The voter must write in the name of the party (eg “Green”, “Libertarian”, “Reform”, “Constitution”, “Natural Law”, “Democratic”, “Republican”, “Peace & Freedom”, “American Independent”, etc.) and send the form back to the election officials.
If they don’t send the form in, or are too late, or request a ballot for a non-existent party, or for a party that for this particular election has decided not to permit interlopers, then they get sent the non-partisan ballot.
The form also includes a toll-free telephone number,
established by the Secretary of State, that the voter may call to access information regarding which political parties have adopted such a rule.
If a voter goes to the polls, he may have to request a partisan ballot. In some counties, election judges may ask, in others the election judges might only respond to active requests.
But under an open primary system, all permanent by mail voters would be given the same ballot, while in-person voters would have the same ballot.
#12 (Re)Read Part IV of Tashjian. Some Louisana voters who are eligible to participate in all stages of the electoral process for larger house of the legislature are disenfranchised from participating in all stages of the election of Congress. Of course Justice Stevens and Scalia would go even further and require the converse to be true – if you can vote in a primary for Congress, you can vote in a primary for the legislature.
Then read Opinion 87070 by the Nebraska Attorney General at http://www.ago.ne.gov/agopinions/
A Louisiana independent who wants to vote in the Republican congressional primary should re-register as a Republican.
A small party registrant who wants to vote in a major party’s congressional primary should re-register with that major party.
#15 Are you responding to #14?