[GPSCC-chat] Fwd: Prop 14 (Top Two) forum in Santa Clara on Tuesday, Marc...

[Andrea Dorey]

I just picked this up, Cameron.
I'd say that in CA we have a case coming up of 
>  an experiment
> where a state takes away party-voter affiliation that it
> used to have.


On Mar 23, 2010, at 5:02 PM, Cameron L. Spitzer wrote:

> 
> I suspect Spencer was looking for some history to complement
> our already plausible conclusions about the intent and
> effect of top-two.  Not dismissing our reasoning.
> 
> We now have per-party-primaries, which the parties can open if
> they choose, followed by a general election.
> 
> Top-two replaces that system.  The new system has no
> per-party-primaries, a mid-year general election, and a runoff
> in the fall.  Without per-party-primaries, party affiliation
> has no legal meaning.
> 
> It's easy to be confused by funny terms like "open primary."
> When candidates from all parties run against one another, that's
> not a primary, it's a general election.
> 
> Several states already do that, all that's different is the
> schedule.  So the "evidence" Spencer wants can be found in
> the experience in those states.  Georgia, Virginia, 
> Washington.  Washington had a sort of Nader campaign club
> in 2000, which disappeared shortly after that election,
> but never got a Green Party together.  Georgia was one of
> the first US states that organized a Green political club,
> and it even formed locals in the larger counties, but never
> reached a thousand members, despite two decades of relatively
> competent organizing effort.  Virginia got started later
> but the story's the same.  You could run down the chart
> in _Ballot Access News_ and catch the rest.  States with
> "open primaries" or no party-voter affiliation
> don't grow Green Parties.  The correlation is just
> about absolute.  The only thing missing is an experiment
> where a state takes away party-voter affiliation that it
> used to have.
> 
> 
> -Cameron
> 
> 
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