Three Republican members of the Michigan State House have introduced HB 5956, which would convert Michigan primaries from open to closed. The sponsors are Ray Franz of Onekama, Greg MacMaster of Kewadin, and Bob Genetski of Allegan County. The bill is in the 2013-2014 legislative session, so there is very little time left for this bill to advance. Also, neither MacMaster nor Genetski ran for re-election, so those two won’t be in the 2015-2016 session. MacMaster did run for State Senate but he lost the Republican primary.

Franz and MacMaster also introduced HB 5955, which would provide that major parties nominate for Governor and state legislature by party meeting instead of by direct primary. Already, major parties in Michigan nominate some of the lesser statewide offices by party meeting instead of by primary.

The California State Court of Appeals will hear Rubin v Bowen on January 15 at 9 a.m. in San Francisco. This is the case in which the Libertarian, Green, and Peace & Freedom Parties charge that the California top-two system violates the voting rights of voters who wish to vote for minor party candidates in November general elections.

Mark Frohnmayer, who worked hard for Oregon’s top-two ballot measure earlier this year, posted this statement on November 5, the date after the election. Significantly, the statement says, “Choice should be maximized in the November election, when the most voters participate.”

This is a hopeful sign. The proponents of top-two are generally individuals who truly want a better election system, and the lack of dialogue between top-two supporters and top-two opponents has been unfortunate.