Today, polls will be open for traditional primary voting. But some of the tradition of primary elections could be going away. The Arizona Supreme Court ruled that state voters can decide on a wide-open primary election system, assuming the initiative gains enough valid signatures to be placed on the November ballot.
If voters do, in fact, approve the initiative, it would change the partisan primaries into a single primary. All candidates would run against each other, with the top vote-getters advancing to the general election regardless of party affiliation.
Right now, primary voters cast ballots only for the party in which they are registered.
Those registered as Independent voters get to choose from the major party ballots.
Even as the state primary election laws now stand, the Independent voters are a huge wild card. The growth in their number may be the most compelling reason to support a shift to an open primary.
Generally, primary election campaigns for the two major parties are focused on rallying the political base. In practice, that means Republicans look to solidify support from the right and the Democrats do the same with the left. Also in practice, at least for statewide offices and higher, candidates in a general election move to the center to appeal to swing voters from the “other side.”
Statewide, the number of registered voters is divided roughly into thirds between Republicans, Democrats and Independents. Republicans hold a slim numerical lead, with Independents not far behind and Democrats slightly behind Independents. A total of less than 200,000 separate the three groups.
With so many Independents, along with their ability to vote in either primary, appealing to the party’s base is no longer a sure road to the general election. Independents can vote for, and in practicality also against, what they like and don’t like.
An open primary would make the process more straightforward. It would also tend to tone down the long primary campaigns based on party purity and force candidates to consider how best to show they can represent their whole constituency.
(The Lake Havasu City-based Today’s News Herald is a sister publication of the Nogales International.)