On April 1, the Nevada Senate Legislative Operations & Elections Committee heard testimony on SB 421 and SB 499. SB 421 would establish presidential primaries, to replace the caucuses. SB 499 would establish a top-two primary, although the name of the bill suggests it is a blanket primary. The committee did not vote on either bill; the hearing was just for the purpose of taking testimony.
The Nevada Republican Party sent an officer who said that the party does not support either bill. The only witness who testified in favor of the top-two bill was Doug Goodman. This particular top-two bill is unusual because it says that if the top two vote-getters in the June primary are from the same party, but there are candidates from other parties (or an independent), then the person who placed second would not advance to the general election. Instead, the next candidate in order of votes polled who was not from that same party would advance. Janine Hansen and Thomas Jefferson, both from the Independent American Party, testified against SB 499. The committee also kindly permitted Richard Winger to testify by telephone, and I also testified against it.
Top Two is an interesting step in the right direction for voting reform. Under the new system, the United Coalition was able to rapidly expand to 29 candidates for state and federal office in 2014.
Are you interested in learning more about unifying voting systems?
Consider signing up to the United Coalition! We’ve been promoting unity of the 100% for 20 consecutive years!
We’re able to include all potential names and decision-items simultaneously and find agreement with larger and larger majorities.
Advanced Voting Systems: They’re THE peaceful decision-making alternative to conflict, force and violence.
http://www.usparliament.org
Is there some reason the United Coalition only operates in California?
James Ogle’s comment “Top Two is an interesting step in the right direction for voting reform” – – yes, A STEP BACKWARD!
“The committee also kindly permitted Richard Winger to testify by telephone, and I also testified against it.” This reads like a redundant sentence. Is Nevada more Democratic? It seems odd the Republicans wouldn’t support a Top Two Primary as they did in Montana.
It is wrong to assume that all Republican legislators all over the nation are all the same. Our excellent ballot access bills pending in North Carolina, Oklahoma, Alabama and Pennsylvania all have Republicans as the main sponsors. People in state legislatures are human beings and human beings vary widely.
Top 2 is one more EVIL smoke screen for the ANTI-Democracy minority rule gerrymanders in ALL 99 State legislature houses and the 2 Congress houses.
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NO primaries.
ONE election day – ballot access by EQUAL nominating petitionis – to get SERIOUS candidates.
P.R. and nonpartisan App.V.
The United Coalition
The United Coalition functions primarily in California because we’re based in California and the original coalition between the Environmentalist and Green Party candidates started in California.
The original two POTUS candidates, Mike Bogatirev [Environmentalist] and Randy Toler [Green] in 1995, were from California and Illinois.
Now we have candidates from all over the world and we’re electing a new International Executive Committee of Ten now.
Check out the vote totals here:
http://www.international-parliament.org/eballot-3-ip12.html
The way the International Parliament works, each of the “Ten Executives” are equals in every mathematical characteristic. So there would be ten potential locations for which we can be based. The International Parliament’s current official office locations are in Lebanon and USA.
Top Two
In California last year, many Democratic and Republican candidates signed up and expressed interest in a unifying voting system including both the treasurers for the Los Angeles Republican and Libertarian Parties, four Gubernatorial candidates, and many other candidates for State and Federal offices. They were campaigning for elective office in California, Colorado, New York and Rhode Island.
We currently have fifteen declared candidates for POTUS in the USA at-large.
We welcome everyone and no one has ever been removed unless they requested to be removed from the United Coalition, since day one on August 6th 1995.
We manage to identify and attract team players.
In 2014 the new guidelines for the California State elections under Top Two helped us expand rapidly, not just with the third parties and independents, but also Democratic and Republicans.
The mathematics of Top Two treats all candidates equally and helps ballot access for all in a more fair manner than before.
While Top Two isn’t pure proportional representation (PR), it is an improvement mathematically for single-winner district elections.
Top Two will allow a transfer from a two-party system to a three-party system. While a three-party system isn’t good enough (the 3rd party may be the “independents” or whomever can unite), it’s a step in the right direction for more choices in the voting booth today in California.