‘Open primary’ may be headed to 2010 ballot
Capitol Weekly ^ | 12/16/08 | John Howard
Posted on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 4:48:20 PM by NormsRevenge
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday plans to discuss his goals for political reform that may include a push to change California's primary election laws.
The governor and those close to him who helped spearhead the recent change in the state's redistricting laws are expected to voice suport for open primaries, which would allow voters to cast primary ballots for any candidate, regardless of partisan affiliation. A ballot initiative could be before voters by 2010, perhaps even earlier, to change the state's primary laws.
Schwarzenegger has already signaled his support of an open primary. That issue - and others - are expected to be covered Wednesday by the governor in a public briefing on political reform.
"He (the governor) believes we need to have a robust debate about that and other political issues," said Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear. "You can anticipate that, as he has through his governorship, he will continue to push for political reform."
One view of the partisan paralysis gripping the California Legislature is that it could be eased by embracing open primary elections, in which voters can cast ballots for any candidate regardless of party affiliation. The notion is not new - some 13 states already have open primaries and 20 more have variants, and California had open primaries in 1998, before its law was thrown out by the courts. But reformers, the governor and others now see open primaries in California as a possible answer to a Capitol frozen in partisan gridlock.
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“Doncha love these pubbies? LOL “
A conservative needs to jump into the gubernatorial primary. The RINO vote is split 3 ways.