Ellington

Is the closed-primary system outdated? The Sun-Herald explores.

Previous Comments

ID

136057

Comment

I personally would prefer the Blanket Primary used in Washington state.

Author

Ex

Date

2003-08-19T14:58:20-06:00

ID

136058

Comment

I thought there were some constitutional issues with such open primaries that have curtailed what can and cannot be done. i don't know. i will have to look. that being said, the primary is where a POLITICAL PARTY picks its nominees. that's it. Louisiana ignores this purpose in the primary. the party picks the person to go against the opposition party in the general election. if it were just a free for all, then there is no point in the primary at all. the top vote getter would have the election...or should. but, again, this misses the point. we don't vote to pick the random 2 contestants in the general election, we pick the parties representative. the GOP and the Dems both don't want the other party helping to decide that for them.

Author

Jason Pollan

Date

2003-08-20T03:24:48-06:00

ID

136059

Comment

Jason wrote: I thought there were some constitutional issues with such open primaries that have curtailed what can and cannot be done. i don't know. i will have to look. that being said, the primary is where a POLITICAL PARTY picks its nominees. that's it. Louisiana ignores this purpose in the primary. the party picks the person to go against the opposition party in the general election. if it were just a free for all, then there is no point in the primary at all. the top vote getter would have the election...or should. but, again, this misses the point. we don't vote to pick the random 2 contestants in the general election, we pick the parties representative. the GOP and the Dems both don't want the other party helping to decide that for them. The Blanket Primary allows voters to choose any candidate in a primary without declaring a political affiliation. In Washington state, the result is that there are nominees represented from all major & minor parties fielding candidates for electoral posts. The blanket primary was adopted in 1935. I will concede the point that there have been issues raised with regard to open primaries. There have been challenges. After a US Supreme Court ruling in 2000, the Democratic and Republican parties filed suit to replace the blanket primary. A Federal District Judge upheld the primary's validity last year. The case has been appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, where a panel heard arguments earlier this year. That being said, I would much prefer a blanket primary because there are times when I wished I could have voted for qualified Democratic and Republican candidates for different offices in party primaries.

Author

Ex

Date

2003-08-20T11:00:44-06:00

ID

136060

Comment

I was having this discussion with someone the other day. I understand that the primaries are for the parties to choose THEIR candidates, but what frustrates me about the closed primary system is how much harm can be done at the primary stage. I have really soured on the two-party system, as have a lot of people, I suspect. And I'm sick of having two major primaries where candidates who could be the best ones in certain offices are weeded out, often based on money and their extreme plateforms, without giving many everyday people a chance to vote for them. And I believe that the primary system is why we end up with such zealots in certain elections. And if you don't choose the party route, you typically don't have a chance in November: no corporate media coverage, no big money for expensive TV commercials, no big endorsements. What if you truly vote as an independent and like candidates from each party? You end up making the primary choice based on one or two candidates that compel you toward one primary or the other, and have to give up on helping the others get to the November election. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad if there wasn't so much big money and trickery in both of the major parties these days. Frankly, I'd just like to kick out the two-party system altogether and start over. It breeds extreme wedge issues, and it's clearly broken. I'm sick to death of both parties, at least in their present form. And apparently, so are the majority of American voters.

Author

ladd

Date

2003-08-20T14:07:21-06:00