California’s Prop 14: Power to the People — or to the Party Bosses?

Posted by Nancy Hanks in At TMV, Breaking News, Politics.
Mar 11th, 2010 | one response

California Dems (including the school employees union) are toying with the ballot language on Proposition 14, the “Top Two” open primary referendum that will be on the ballot for a vote in June. Prop 14 has broad support among California voters, especially independents (“decline to state”) who are allowed to vote in primaries at the whim of the party clubhouses. At issue is whether the political parties or the people have the power.

CALIFORNIA PROP 14

Prop. 14 fight comes down to words – Measure’s success could hinge on a court battle over language. (By George Skelton, LA Times/Capitol Journal)

Ballot measure would provide open primaries (Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau)

INDEPENDENTS OF AMERICA, UNITE! (by Keith Nelle, CAIVN)

State lawmakers’ latest shame (by Pete Golis, Press Democrat)

Santa Rosa Press Democrat supports Prop 14 — clever cartoon too!

Dan Morain (Sac Bee) has a few choice words on the ballot language maneuver by the partisan powers that be (including the school employees union….)

Also see the Orange County Register on the language game…

Independents hope Prop 14 can help bring an end to partisan paralysis, according to Thomas Elias at the Redding Record Searchlight…

And, Arizona Repubs want to close their primaries to keep independent voters out:

State GOP looking to close its primary to independents (Rhonda Bodfield Arizona Daily Star)

What do independents think? Suggested reading:

IndependentVoting.org (National)

Committee for a Unified Independent Party Attorney Harry Kresky “Why Independents Support Open Primaries”

IndependentVoice.org

Californians for an Open Primary-Yes on Prop 14

California Independent Voter Network

For more news for independent voters, see The Hankster

One Response to “California’s Prop 14: Power to the People — or to the Party Bosses?”

1. superdestroyer says:

   March 12, 2010 at 5:25 am

   Prop 14 looks like a push to make California a one party state faster than the demographic changes were going to cause anyway.

   My guess is that is Prop 14 is pass that there will so few competative elections in the primaries that people will begin to question the point of having elections.

   People should ask how independents will be relevant is most elections are pointless exercises in approving the one dominant candidate.