Topic: Presidential Campaign 2008
Open or Closed Primaries: What is the Answer? Many across the country faced the same situation those in Oregon faced on April 30th, a day known in Oregon as “Lockout Day.” For primaries should there be any such day?by Gary Wood
(Conservative Libertarian)
Friday, May 2, 2008
It's no secret the number of people registering as Independent voters is growing across the country. In Oregon that category is reaching close to 20% who, as of the 30th, are not eligible to vote in either party primary. The debate over open or closed primaries has risen this election season with many national candidates vying for the Independent vote. Most who register as an Independent are faced with being locked out of a party's primary election for the first time and are crying foul. Many are mounting initiatives to change the rules in an effort to force states and political parties to accept an open primary policy.
Phil Keisling, former Oregon Secretary of State and chief petitioner for the Open Primaries Initiative in Oregon, told voters on Wednesday, "Today is a vivid reminder of why this change is so important. We are well on our way to giving Oregon citizens a historic chance to change their election system, to stop paying for closed, party-member-only primaries for key offices, so that every voter can vote for the best candidate, at every election, regardless of party registration or lack thereof."
If you are a supporter of a candidate that is not a part of your registered party affiliation initiatives such as this are near and dear to your heart. Many campaigns constantly updated voters in different closed states regarding their lockout date for changing party affiliation in time to cast a primary vote. This was a prime focus of such well known candidates as Dr. Ron Paul, current Texas Representative and Republican Presidential Candidate. In open primary states these types of efforts were not necessary and voters could focus on getting to know their candidates of choice right up to the day of casting their primary vote.
Caveatting state and party rules change constantly, FairVote.com reports 26 closed primary states as of February. Of the remaining 24 states and the District of Columbia there is a mix of open and other system categorized. No doubt there is little consistency between state party rules regarding the issue. For example, in Utah the Republican Party has a closed primary while the Democratic Party allows both Democrats and Independents the opportunity to cast a vote in their primary. Just south, in Nevada, there is a closed caucus while just north, in Idaho, Republicans have an open primary while Democrats hold an open caucus. Voters in every state need to stay in touch with the ever changing rules within their state.
It would be nice to see national parties setting guidelines for all state parties to follow during the primaries, this would help end some of the confusion. Yet what is lost in this debate is how it centers on primary elections and how it centers around the two current major parties. There's a lot of time, money, and effort devoted to this issue while most minor political parties select their candidates at party conventions. The focus should not be whether or not parties need to be forced by state rules to open their doors to those not associated with their party. Instead the unfair practice of the major parties being given a long and large exposure for their selection of a candidate is lost in this cloud of controversy.
The time has come to call for an end to locking out any candidate not associated with a major party. Let the parties decide through a convention process who they will run during the general election. Save the headache of debating if it is right or wrong to open or close primaries. Save the amount of time and money wasted on primaries for the two major parties and lets focus instead on regaining control of the elections by using the guidelines found within the U.S. Constitution. Instead of debating what is right for a pure democracy let us remember we were once, and should be again, a federalist republic with well defined and well thought out methods for selecting both our federal Executive and Legislative Branch representatives.
In discussing the method of electing the President of the United States Alexander Hamilton wrote, in Federalist Paper #68, "I venture somewhat further, and hesitate not to affirm that if the manner of it be not perfect, it is at least excellent. It unites in an eminent degree all the advantages the union of which was to be desired."
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2008 Gary Wood, all rights reserved.
Published: Friday, May 2, 2008
Last modified: Friday, May 2, 2008
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Hey, I'm not a Catholic Cardinal, either, so I don't get to vote for the Pope. That doesn't violate any 'right' of mine. Neither does my not getting to vote in a Republican or Democratic primary.
The choice of a party's nominee should be up to its members. Opening it up to other parties' supporters could lead to its being saddled with a candidate without any actual support in the grassroots membership (John McCain being a good example). At the extreme, it can lead to one party deliberately disrupting another's nomination contest (Operation Chaos being a good example.)
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2008 Gary Wood, all rights reserved.