On August 30, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed AB 681, after amending it. The bill now requires that independent voters receive two postal notices telling them which parties allow independent voters to vote in their primaries, instead of three notices. Also the bill now says that if an independent voter receives a mail ballot that doesn’t include any particular party’s primary ballot, the voter may return it and request a ballot for any party that allows independents to vote in its presidential primary.
The California deadline for parties to tell the state whether they want to allow independents to vote in their presidential primary has not yet passed. But in 2016, the Democratic, Libertarian, and American Independent Party allowed independents to vote in their presidential primary. The Republican, Green, and Peace & Freedom Parties did not.
NOOOO primaries, caucuses and conventions for nominations.
EQUAL nom pets / filing fees for nominations.
PR and AppV and TOTSOP.
Is there any technical reason it wouldn’t work to have a bill making it so the Presidential Primary portion of an independent voter’s ballot includes the candidates of all parties (e.g. grouped by party), and voters would be limited to selecting one? Then voters wouldn’t have to know to choose in advance. Do any states do it that way?
@CJ,
California had such a ballot in 2000 but the ballots were marked with party affiliation. Votes were tabulated by party.
But the political parties aren’t interested in what independent voters want. They want to force voters to identify with the party, so that they can hit them up at the general election.
California has a particularly awkward and obscure system for independent voters. They must request the partisan ballot. It can’t be offered. For absentee voters this is paticularly hard since the ballot is sent to the voter.
AB 681 would require cards be sent out to registered voters informing them of their current party affiliation, and of their options in the upcoming presidential primary. It also informs voters how to change their party affiliation.
California should witness a particular decline in Green and P&F affiliations before the primary, and also some slippage in Libertarian and American Independent affiliations.
The bill would also permit voters to change their affiliation at the polls on election day.
It may also be intended to deceive voters with regard to non-presidential offices.