Election Primaries in my state are a fucking joke

[Alyeska]

I absolutely despise how the primaries are run in my state. You can either vote in the Democrat or Republican primaries. Not both. Some would say "whats the problem, you get to pick." The problem is compounded by living in a more rural area as compared to the rest of the country.

Right now fuckface Conrad Burns is up for election and is considered the most vulnerable Repubican senator up for reelection thanks to Abramof being his buddy. So I naturaly want to vote in the Democratic primary to pick a good counter canadite.

However, there are 3 Republican canadites for Sherrif and absolutely no Democratic canadite. One of the Sherrif canadites is a fucking ass with no law enforcement experience, questionable morality, and thinks that the Sherrif should be a political position. The other two canadites have 20 years appeace in law enforcement and both currently work for the Sherrifs office. So I want to vote to make sure the asshole canadite won't get voted in. However, because there is no Democratic canadite, whoever wins the primary is the defacto winner.

I can't vote in both primaries. Fucking absurd.

[Quadlok]

We were actually forced into this same form of primary here after our wise and benevolent state Republican and Democratic leaders whined and bitched and threw their money around until our supreme court said an open primary was unconstitutional. Everybody seems to either barely tolerate or outright loathe the new system, except for the party regulars who are happy no one with an independant thought can come in and muck up their candidate selection process.

[Exonerate]

The reason there aren't any open primaries is to avoid people from skewing votes (Eg Republicans voting in droves for the Democrat primary so that the best candidate isn't chosen)

[Pu-239]

Virginia has open primaries. Not sure if you're allowed to vote for candidates for both parties though, and in any case I submitted my registration a little too close to the deadline (which is unfortunate, I dislike Harris Miller).

[1123581321]

Georgia also has open primaries, and you only get to vote once. When you vote they ask Democrat, Republican, and Independent. They then mark you off as voted and they even record which party you voted with. But they don't look over your shoulder as you actually push the Diebold buttons, so still a secret election.

[MKSheppard]

I absolutely despise how the primaries are run in my state. You can either vote in the Democrat or Republican primaries. Not both.

Tough Shit. Pick a party affiliation and stick with it.

[Ar-Adunakhor]

I absolutely despise how the primaries are run in my state. You can either vote in the Democrat or Republican primaries. Not both.

Tough Shit. Pick a party affiliation and stick with it.

I agree. Stay the course and think of the children, people. There are never any reasons to try for qualified canidates on both sides, and anyone who tells you otherwise is a terrorist.

Though to be fair, Dems hew to party lines almost as much, and should be raked over the coals for it the same as a Republinatic.

[Durandal]

I absolutely despise how the primaries are run in my state. You can either vote in the Democrat or Republican primaries. Not both.

Tough Shit. Pick a party affiliation and stick with it.

Yeah because that works out so well for people who don't masturbate to "Guns and Ammo" and the thought of nuking the Middle East.

[Alyeska]

I absolutely despise how the primaries are run in my state. You can either vote in the Democrat or Republican primaries. Not both.

Tough Shit. Pick a party affiliation and stick with it.

Fuck you Shep. I should be able to pick my Democratic Canadite and also vote for Sherrif. Normaly the normal election would give me my voice on Sherrif, except there is no fucking alternate canadites. I have a fucking right to vote on these issues.

[FSTargetDrone]

I absolutely despise how the primaries are run in my state. You can either vote in the Democrat or Republican primaries. Not both. Some would say "whats the problem, you get to pick." The problem is compounded by living in a more rural area as compared to the rest of the country.

<snip>

I can't vote in both primaries. Fucking absurd.

As a registered Independent, I am unable to vote in primaries at all.

[MKSheppard]

I agree. Stay the course and think of the children, people. There are never any reasons to try for qualified canidates on both sides, and anyone who tells you otherwise is a terrorist.

Though to be fair, Dems hew to party lines almost as much, and should be raked over the coals for it the same as a Republinatic.

Ah yes, the ever so popular "idiot reply".

Did it ever occur to our friend Alyeska; that if the Democrat party is non-existent in his state, to simply have his affiliation be "republican" so he can vote in the only primary that really matters, the Republican one, and then when the general election comes around, vote Democrat. It's not like there's a guy in the booth holding a gun to your head forcing you to vote party line.

But no, Alyeska wants to have his cake and eat it; he wants to vote in both primaries.

[MKSheppard]

I have a fucking right to vote on these issues.

So list your affiliation as "republican" to vote in the only primary that matters, and then when the general election rolls around, vote Democrat. A suitably reversed form of this has been a staple of Maryland Republican politics, where the Democrat primary is usually what matters.

But no, you want to be able to vote in both primaries, and have your cake as well.

[Col. Crackpot]

i'm voting in the republican primary to prevent some Bush fellating jesus freak lunatic from unseating Sen. Chafee.

[Glocksman]

I absolutely despise how the primaries are run in my state. You can either vote in the Democrat or Republican primaries. Not both.

Tough Shit. Pick a party affiliation and stick with it.

Fuck you Shep. I should be able to pick my Democratic Canadite and also vote for Sherrif. Normaly the normal election would give me my voice on Sherrif, except there is no fucking alternate canadites. I have a fucking right to vote on these issues.

Not in a primary you shouldn't.
The purpose of a primary election is to enable party members (or those who claim affiliation with the party) to choose the candidates who will run under the party banner in the general election.

At least that's what SCOTUS said in a 7-2 ruling.

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC PARTY et al. v. JONES, SECRETARY OF STATE OF CALIFORNIA, et al.
CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
No. 99—401. Argued April 24, 2000–Decided June 26, 2000

One way that candidates for public office in California gain access to the general ballot is by winning a qualified political party’s primary. In 1996, Proposition 198 changed the State’s partisan primary from a closed primary, in which only a political party’s members can vote on its nominees, to a blanket primary, in which each voter’s ballot lists every candidate regardless of party affiliation and allows the voter to choose freely among them. The candidate of each party who wins the most votes is that party’s nominee for the general election. Each of petitioner political parties prohibits nonmembers from voting in the party’s primary. They filed suit against respondent state official, alleging, inter alia, that the blanket primary violated their First Amendment rights of association. Respondent Californians for an Open Primary intervened. The District Court held that the primary’s burden on petitioners’ associational rights was not severe and was justified by substantial state interests. The Ninth Circuit affirmed.

Held: California’s blanket primary violates a political party’s First Amendment right of association. Pp. 4—19.

(a) States play a major role in structuring and monitoring the primary election process, but the processes by which political parties select their nominees are not wholly public affairs that States may regulate freely. To the contrary, States must act within limits imposed by the Constitution when regulating parties’ internal processes. See, e.g., Eu v. San Francisco County Democratic Central Comm., 489 U.S. 214. Respondents misplace their reliance on Smith v. Allwright, 321 U.S. 649, and Terry v. Adams, 345 U.S. 461, which held not that party affairs are public affairs, free of First Amendment protections, see, e.g., Tashjian v. Republican Party of Conn., 479 U.S. 208, but only that, when a State prescribes an election process that gives a special role to political parties, the parties’ discriminatory action becomes state action under the Fifteenth Amendment. This Nation has a tradition of political associations in which citizens band together to promote candidates who espouse their political views. The First Amendment protects the freedom to join together to further common political beliefs, id., at 214—215, which presupposes the freedom to identify those who constitute the association, and to limit the association to those people, Democratic Party of United States v. Wisconsin ex rel. La Follette, 450 U.S. 107, 122. In no area is the political association’s right to exclude more important than in its candidate-selection process. That process often determines the party’s positions on significant public policy issues, and it is the nominee who is the party’s ambassador charged with winning the general electorate over to its views. The First Amendment reserves a special place, and accords a special protection, for that process, Eu, supra, at 224, because the moment of choosing the party’s nominee is the crucial juncture at which the appeal to common principles may be translated into concerted action, and hence to political power, Tashjian, supra, at 216. California’s blanket primary violates these principles. Proposition 198 forces petitioners to adulterate their candidate-selection process–a political party’s basic function–by opening it up to persons wholly unaffiliated with the party, who may have different views from the party. Such forced association has the likely outcome–indeed, it is Proposition 198’s intended outcome–of changing the parties’ message. Because there is no heavier burden on a political party’s associational freedom, Proposition 198 is unconstitutional unless it is narrowly tailored to serve a compelling state interest. See Timmons v. Twin Cities Area New Party, 520 U.S. 351, 358. Pp. 4—14.

(b) None of respondents’ seven proffered state interests–producing elected officials who better represent the electorate, expanding candidate debate beyond the scope of partisan concerns, ensuring that disenfranchised persons enjoy the right to an effective vote, promoting fairness, affording voters greater choice, increasing voter participation, and protecting privacy–is a compelling interest justifying California’s intrusion into the parties’ associational rights. Pp. 14—18.

169 F.3d 646, reversed. to select candidates for the general election. To allow people to vote in a primary without declaring a party affiliation violates the right of affiliation that the parties have under the first amendment.

[Bounty]

So if I understand this correctly, people can be barred from electing officials in their home town if they are affiliated with the wrong party ?

Why do you need to declare your party affiliation for anything but an internal election anyway ?

[1123581321]

So if I understand this correctly, people can be barred from electing officials in their home town if they are affiliated with the wrong party ?

Why do you need to declare your party affiliation for anything but an internal election anyway ?

The election for Sheriff is in November, and everyone votes. However, the Republicans choose who goes on the ballot under the Republican name in the primary. And only Republicans vote there. Same thing with the Democrats. It's just that the Democrats aren't running anybody. So the legal election in November that legally picks the sheriff is in November. The defacto election for sheriff is in the Republican party primary, because in November, he'll be unopposed.

[MKSheppard]

So the legal election in November that legally picks the sheriff is in November. The defacto election for sheriff is in the Republican party primary, because in November, he'll be unopposed.

If he doesn't like it, tell the Democrat party to actually put forth a candidate instead of bitching about it.

[Pick]

If he doesn't like it, tell the Democrat party to actually put forth a candidate instead of bitching about it.

*GASP* It's all so simple now!

[MKSheppard]

*GASP* It's all so simple now!

Actually it is. If there's no viable Democrat candidate, what's stopping YOU from announcing your candidacy for Sheriff? You'd get the Democrat nod by fiat.

[Sea Skimmer]

So if I understand this correctly, people can be barred from electing officials in their home town if they are affiliated with the wrong party ?

A primary is a vote in which party candidates are chosen by party members for an election; when the actual election occurs you can vote for whoever you want.

Why do you need to declare your party affiliation for anything but an internal election anyway ?

You don;t A primary is an internal election essentially, they just get run by local government because that’s how the system was set up and it ensures that they happen.
You do not need to chose a party when you register to vote, nor are you limited by your party affiliation when the formal election occurs.

[Futoque]

The reasoning I have heard for this is that one party can influence the election by voting in the primaries for the weakest of the candidates from the other. If the oposition can vote in your primaries it can (I did not say will) influence the general elections. If one party can get the other to put forward a weak candidate they will be more likely to win.

[Alyeska]

And the simplest solution is an open primary where you just vote for a single canadite for any position. Thats it. If you choose to vote for the weakest opposition canadite you may not vote for your prefered canadite in your party.

Of course in my local area the judges are non-party identified. Why the fuck is the Sherrif a fucking party position?

Shep, your answer is a fucking joke. If I vote Democrat I have no say in the Sherrif election. And any fucking democrat is not viable. This is a position of integretity that requires experience. I would never vote for someone just because they are from a party. I want to vote for the most qualified canadite. Fucking be damned of the party politics.

[Pu-239]

Well, again, open primaries allow sabotage- here, George Allen will remain the republican candidate for reelection, so there's nothing stopping them from voting in the Dem primary. The way I see it, it tends to favor the party w/ the incumbent in power...

[MKSheppard]

Shep, your answer is a fucking joke.

You can't have your cake and eat it too.

You have a choice to make here.

Which is more important to you; the Sheriff election (which WILL impact your quality of life), or the guy you send to Washington?

[Alyeska]

I shouldn't have to pick between the two.