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Towards a just & healthy democracy in the Commonwealth... and beyond!
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Mon Jan 03, 2011 at 13:46:31 PM EST
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(may 2011 actually bring us increased voter choice... - promoted by eli_beckerman)
A radio host asked me on the air last month what I thought of a voting reform known as "Open Primaries." I didn't have enough knowledge at the time to comment one way or another, but I followed up with some research and herewith offer to continue the discussion.
As I understand it, the 'open primary' that was referenced would place all candidates for an office on the same primary ballot and allow all voters to cast ballots in the primary, regardless of the voters' or the candidates' party affiliations. The top two candidates in the primary would advance to the general election. City elections in Massachusetts, which are non-partisan, are held in this way with a 'preliminary election' whenever more than two candidates for the same office secure a place on the ballot. The 'Open Primaries' reform would amend the Commonwealth's election laws so that races which are presently partisan would be administered in the same manner. |
| scott_laugenour :: Voters Choosing |
| Reforms are most meaningful when they address a real problem. I am unsure what the problem is that would be fixed by introducing Open Primaries as described by the radio host. Certainly, the 'problem' we face now can't be that there are too many candidates seeking office in Massachusetts. We are already reading stories about how local Berkshire County Democratic Party leaders are discouraging a candidate from running in next year's primary elections unless the seat is 'open.' Being burdened by an overabundance of candidates is not a real problem that the commonwealth faces in its partisan elections.
Although it was fashionable and possibly accurate to report in 2010 that a record number of candidates were seeking office in the state legislature last year - it was even front page news in the Berkshire Eagle on April 28, 2010 when it was apparent that all local State Representative seats were being contested - about half of the incumbent state legislators on Beacon Hill faced no primary or general election challenge last year.
The fact of challenges for elective offices in an election year should be about as newsworthy as the safe landing of a jet at Logan Airport. However, with the democracy deficit we face, such events do make the front page. What does an Open Primary system effectively change when there are fewer than three candidates for the vast majority of offices?
A more comprehensive and relevant voting reform for Massachusetts would be Voter Choice, which, if it were combined with an Open Primary philosophy, would eliminate the need for state primary and preliminary city elections whatsoever, while attracting more candidates. The cost of upgrading our voting machines to accommodate such a system should be recouped very quickly if voting precincts no longer need to administer preliminary and primary elections.
With Voter Choice, voters would be allowed to rank any or all candidates on the ballot for a given office in order of preference. If a voter's first choice is eliminated in a first/preliminary round of voting then a second-ranked choice is counted, continuing with additional rounds as necessary.
As a 2010 candidate I supported Voter Choice. It is sometimes called 'Ranked Choice Voting' or 'Instant Run-Off Voting.' Although Common Cause did not include Voter Choice in its candidate questionnaire, I included it in the cover letter which I sent with it.
In 2009 the incumbent who was to become my election year opponent chose not to join me in signing a petition for Voter Choice, which was being circulated then for a potential ballot question. Incumbents, for obvious reasons, tend not to support making changes to a voting system that has delivered them into power, especially if they do not feel that their inaction on the reform will cost them their seat.
I look forward to continuing the discussion with the radio host the next time I am on his program. |
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| Quotes |
"Now, is this the deal I would have preferred? No. I believe that we could have made the tough choices required - on entitlement reform and tax reform - right now, rather than through a special congressional committee process. But this compromise does make a serious down payment on the deficit reduction we need and gives each party a strong incentive to get a balanced plan done before the end of the year. Most importantly, it will allow us to avoid default and end the crisis that Washington imposed on the rest of America."
--President Barack Obama on the debt ceiling "deal"
"Despite Democratic control over the White House, despite Democratic control over the Senate, despite overwhelming opposition from the American people, a small minority of the members of the Republican-controlled House have successfully pushed an extreme right-wing agenda onto the American political landscape. It is an ideology which believes that despite the fact that the rich are getting richer, the middle class is shrinking, and poverty is increasing, all - all of the burden for deficit reduction should rest on working people."
--Independent Senator Bernie Sanders on the debt ceiling "deal"
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Then and Now
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Then...
"Last year Evergreen, a Massachusetts company, agreed to establish their first-ever United States based manufacturing facility here in Massachusetts. They did so, or are doing so, at Devens. They have now agreed and chosen to triple their size at Devens. Their next phase of expansion, right here in Massachusetts, a signature company in a signature sector, and we congratulate all of the folks at Evergreen and look forward to continuing to work with you...
We made a personal commitment to Evergreen for the sake of Evergreen, but also because we wanted to show that there are ways in which state government, in working together with private industry and with the utility companies, could begin to create a different kind of environment, a different kind of business climate here, to grow that sector, and it is happening. It's happening. Evergreen is one of the most prominent examples, but there are a whole host of examples."
--Governor Deval Patrick, April 7, 2008, boasting about state investment in Evergreen.
and Now...
"Evergreen Solar Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday, completing a stunning reversal of fortune for a high-flying alternative-energy company that once seemed to herald a new era for the Massachusetts economy... At its peak, Evergreen employed roughly 900 people locally and attracted more than $50 million in state support, as its stock price soared above $100 a share.
Yesterday, Evergreen's stock closed at 18 cents. The company shuttered its manufacturing plant in Devens earlier this year and now has only 85 employees left. Massachusetts is one of its top creditors, owed $1.5 million in rent."
--Erin Ailworth, Boston Globe, August 16, 2011
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