The PAC for the California Association of Health Underwriters (CAHU-PAC) recently contributed $100,000 toward the campaign to pass the “top-two open primary” ballot measure on the June 2010 California ballot. The PAC’s blog says, “The Legislature has placed a ballot measure on the June 2010 ballot that will change the law to provide that all primary elections for state legislative office will be NON-PARTISAN (caps in original). This change is terribly important to CAHU because it will result in the election of more moderate anti-single payer Legislators.” See the CAHU blog here (go back to the November 16, 2009 CAHU-PAC blog post for more).
The campaign for the “top-two open primary” ballot measure has already sent a 25 inch by 11 inch brochure to many registered independent voters in California, advocating the measure. The brochure includes an application for a voter to request a mail ballot.
In 2004, when the “top-two open primary” was also on the California ballot, the biggest contributor to the campaign for it was Countrywide Home Lending, which contributed $250,000.
First of all Happy New Year Richard and thanks for the excellent news service you provide.
About the primary system – in North Carolina, we have closed primaries EXCEPT that the political parties holding them can open the primaries to unaffiliated voters. They almost always do that.
I keep hoping someone will create a party and call it the “Unaffiliated Party”. Imagine the votes that UP would get.
See NC’s current voter registation #s
Voter Registration as of 01/05/2010
Democratic: 2,762,097
Republican: 1,930,469
Libertarian: 6,530
Unaffiliated: 1,383,594
Total: 6,082,690
Not surprising that the same people who want to force us to buy overpriced, low coverage “health” insurance from private companies also supports the anti-democratic “top two primary” system. Consistently fascist.
Massachusetts had a ballot-qualified party in 1992 called the Independent Voters Party. It said whoever won its presidential primary would get the party’s presidential nomination. Howard Phillips won the party’s 1992 presidential primary (he was the presidential candidate of the US Taxpayers Party, now called the Constitution Party). So the Independent Voters Party dutifully kept its promise and put Phillips on the November 1992 ballot. But Phillips only got 2,218 votes in Massachusetts on the Independent Voters Party label (.08%). So just having a party with that attractive name does not necessarily guarantee a big vote.
The Independent Voters Party also had 3 candidates for U.S. House in 1992. They averaged 3.49% of the vote in November 1992. The IVP went off the ballot because it had failed to poll 3% for any statewide race.
#2 A system where the people collectively elect their government officials is “anti-democratic”?
This is almost as interesting as when the League of Women Voters asserted that appointed boards were essential to a democracy.
#2, #4 Democracy = Majority rule, direct or indirect, limited or unlimited.
oligarchy / monarchy = minority rule — of any type.
Actual math in ALL houses of ALL 50 State legislatures = about 30 percent indirect ANTI-Democracy minority rule = indirect OLIGARCHY — tending very strongly towards MONARCHY (party hack bosses making the agendas).
Half the votes in half the rigged gerrymander districts = about 25 percent.
Average winner gets about 60-64 percent — thus about 30-32 percent indirect ANTI-Democracy minority rule in most gerrymander regimes.
MUCH worse in the U.S.A. Senate due to many below average small States and much worse in all regimes due to party hack primary math (even with runoff primaries in some States).
THUS — the U.S.A. and all 50 State regimes are limited constitutional elected OLIGARCHIES — with lots of powermad folks who think they are the greatest monarchs ever on Mother Earth — ALL the recent Prezs, Guvs in larger States, Mayors in larger cities, etc.
Such oligarchies / monarchs have all been basicially EVIL since 1929 — for the economic benefit of various special interest party hack gangs looting the taxpayers and savers — aka tax slaves and moron creditors (who have made loans to governments).
P.R. and A.V. — NO primaries are needed.
Otherwise – get ready for Civil WAR II and/or World WAR III that will make ALL prior wars seem like a 5 year old kid’s birthday party in a back yard.
Oh great… they want nonpartisan state legislative elections so badly that they are willing to have party primaries abolished for all state and congressional offices.
The only remaining party primaries would be for president.
This group must really be chapped at the state legislature.
The “top two open primary” monstrosity does not result in the election of more “moderates.”
“Unaffiliated Party” is oxymoronic.
I know there’s an Independent Party but how do you join or become attached to a political association if you’re unaffiliated?
#6 Maybe they want legislative and congressional elections to be contested on the same basis.
Remember that Justices Stevens and Scalia dissented from the majority opinion in Tashjian on this very issue. If the Top 2 Open Primary is challenged in court, the two justices could be key votes in a final decision.
Great post, I love this blog.