Tag: open primaries

Lawsuit Filed Against ‘Arrogant’ ‘Make Elections (Un)Fair Act’ That ‘Radically Alters Arizona’s Constitutional Structure’

Rachel Alexander
People Voting

The Arizona Free Enterprise Club (AFEC) filed a lawsuit against the Make Elections Fair Act (MEFA) on Friday. The complaint alleged that the initiative violates the Arizona Constitution by illegally combining multiple constitutional amendments in one ballot initiative. It said the “Make Elections (Unfair) Act” will “radically alter Arizona’s constitutional structure in multiple ways.”

“In their rush to undermine the will of Arizona voters for future elections, the special interests that drafted this measure ignored our laws and our Constitution,” said Scot Mussi, president of AFEC in a statement. “This egregious disregard for law and order exudes arrogance from these parties and should disqualify their measure from the November ballot.”

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New Hampshire Republican Officials Suffer Setback in Effort to Close State’s GOP Presidential Primary, Assert That Previous Open Primaries Violated the Law

Rachel Alexander
People Voting

An attempt to close the New Hampshire Republican presidential primary election to allow only Republican voters has failed so far, even though opening it to all voters may have violated the law. Karen Testerman, who serves as chair of the Merrimack County Republican Committee, unsuccessfully ran for governor, and whose husband is New Hampshire State Representative David Testerman (R-Franklin), drafted a resolution that was adopted by the New Hampshire Republican Party a year ago demanding that New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan close the primaries. She also sued him last fall, but the lawsuit was dismissed on January 9, with the judge stating Testerman and the other plaintiffs did not have standing.

According to The New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism (NHCPIJ), Scanlan said he couldn’t close the primary until he received a letter from the New Hampshire Republican Party (NHGOP) chair instructing him to do so, citing RSA 659:14-2 in Special Provisions for State and Presidential Primary Elections. 

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Arizona Election Fraud Deniers Hold Event Discussing Election Reform, Andrew Yang Warns of Arizona Ushering in a ‘Dark, Authoritarian Government’

Rachel Alexander

A group of leading election fraud deniers spoke at an event in downtown Phoenix put on by the civic organization Arizona Talks. The forum was moderated by Steve Goldstein, a longtime PBS host who recently moved on to join Save Democracy AZ, which is pushing open primaries. The panelists consisted of failed Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, and Jackie Salit, president of Independent Voting.

Goldstein said he supports rank-choice voting. He said since the Arizona Legislature isn’t getting the reforms passed that he wants, he recommends a version of ranked-choice voting to select legislators and members of Congress since he said their seats are gerrymandered — that picks the top two for those offices. He complained that members of the two parties no longer cross the aisle to vote with the other side, implying that the Republicans in the legislature aren’t compromising as much as they used to. The 2023 legislature is one of the most conservative in recent years, with several brand-new legislators scoring at the top of conservative ratings.

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Arizona State Senate Passes More Election Integrity Bills Relating to Primaries and Ballot Images

Neil Jones
Election Day voters

The Arizona State Senate passed more legislation Tuesday aimed at strengthening Arizona’s elections, starting with House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 2033, sponsored by State Representative Austin Smith (R-Suprise).

“Thank you to the @AZSenateGOP for voting out HCR2033. A bigger thank you to all the grassroots activists who worked so hard to make this happen. Very grateful for you all,” Smith tweeted. “This constitutional referral to protect our party primaries and girding us against radical experimental election systems that disenfranchise voters such as ‘ranked choice voting.'”

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Republican Faction Works with Democrats to Move the Party Left, Push Open Primaries, Ranked Choice Voting

Rachel Alexander

With Democrats taking over the top leadership positions in Arizona, progressives are boldly moving onto their next steps in the state. Save Democracy Arizona (SDA) is looking into getting a ballot initiative that would open up primary elections to everyone and possibly implement ranked choice voting. The new group is composed of Democrats and moderate Republicans who seek to stop conservative Republicans from getting elected to office.

Arizona has a semi-closed primary system, meaning Republicans and Democrats automatically receive a ballot in the primary, but independents and other political parties must request one of those. With an open primary, any voter can vote with any party ballot. Save Democracy executive board member Sarah Brown Smallhouse explained why the group wants the change. “Because so few people (request a ballot), we almost have closed primaries,” she said. In recent years, independents have outnumbered both Republicans and Democrats in much of the state. 

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Third Parties Merge in Pennsylvania, with Candidacies Potentially Coming Soon

Bradley Vasoli

As three national political third parties proceed with a merger they announced last week, several independent state-legislative candidates are seeking approval to run under the Forward Party banner in Pennsylvania.

The expanding centrist political organization includes the Forward Party, founded by former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang; the Renew America Movement, founded by several former Republican public officials; and the Serve American Movement (SAM), currently led by former Republican Florida Congressman David Jolly. Yang and former Republican New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman will co-chair the newly consolidated party. 

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Ohio Republican Primary Was Dominated by Non-Republican Voters

Bradley Vasoli

Figures from the Republican Party’s voter database indicate many voters who traditionally have aligned with the Democrats voted in Ohio’s Republican primary on May 3 in which Gov. Mike DeWine handily won nomination for another term.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) database rates voters on a scale of one to five in terms of their allegiance to either the Republican or the Democratic Party. Mainly, the GOP takes into account which party’s primaries Ohioans have voted in historically, though other data are weighed as well.

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