The largest National Public Radio station in Los Angeles, KPCC, has now posted today’s debate on California’s Proposition 14, the top-two ballot measure. Listen to it here. Attorney David Fleming advocated Proposition 14 and Mike Feinstein, former Green Party Mayor of Santa Monica, opposed it.
Fleming said that Common Cause has endorsed Proposition 14, but that is not true. Common Cause, like the California League of Women Voters, is neutral. Fleming also said that all large newspapers in California support Proposition 14, but the Orange County Register and several medium-sized daily newspapers oppose it.
Richard, lately every so often when I’ve been coming to Ballot Access News a viagra ad has appeared instead of the website. Do you know what’s going on? Is it a problem with me or the site?
My webmaster says you probably have some spyware on your computer that should be taken care of.
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Mike Feinstein mentioned turnout in Washington:
Turnout in elections is driven more by the candidates than the method of election. In 2004 in Washington, the Democrats had a contested primary for governor which included Ron Sims the King County Executive. King County, which includes Seattle, has about 1/3 of the population of the state. In 2008, Ron Sims was not on the ballot.
Without Ron Sims, turnout dropped precipitously in 2008 King County. It dropped somewhat in neighboring Snohomish, Kitsap, and Pierce counties. It was up strongly in the rest of the State. But because of the lack of a strong local candidate, and the population domination of King County, turnout overall was down.
Ironically (or perhaps not) more votes were cast in the gubernatorial race in 2008, than had been cast in 2004. 2004 was the first Pick-A-Gulag Primary, where voters are expected to mark their choice of party on the primary ballot, and then confine their choices to party candidates down the rest of the ballot.
Overall, 12% of Washington voters did not vote for a gubernatorial candidate in the 2004 primary, most likely because they refused to limit themselves to using only one of the red or blue crayons that had been issued to them or staying within the party lines.
Amazingly 15% of Libertarians refused to vote in the first ever Libertarian primary election in Washington.
#4: “… 15% of Libertarians refused to vote in the first ever Libertarian primary election in Washington [in 2004].”
As I recall, under the blanket primary, the WA Libertarians were, for a time, considered a major party. Did they have any contested primaries then, or did they still nominate by convention prior to the blanket primary election?
“… Pick-A-Gulag Primary, where voters are expected to… confine their choices to party candidates down… the ballot.”
By this definition, your state of Texas, with its true open primaries, is also a “gulag.” Why haven’t you contacted any state legislators about rescuing you and your fellow Texans from this “gulag” by enacting the “top two open primary”?
#5 In 2004, they had a contested gubernatorial primary.
I think it was after that, that they had a law passed that permitted smaller parties that had qualified to hold a primary, to continue to nominate by convention.