End primary elections. That’s right, end them. While opening Pennsylvania primary elections to all registered voters would be better than the closed system now in place, that’s only a baby step toward improvement. Ending them outright is better.
Under the current system, only people registered as either Republican or Democrat may vote in a primary election, but those elections are still paid for by tax money, money that comes from everyone, even those barred from voting in a primary. So, some taxpayers must pay for something they’re forbidden from taking part in. (Makes one think about the phrase “no taxation without representation.”)
Crazier yet, some people on a primary ballot are prohibited from voting in that very same election. That happened during the May 16 primary for school board in West Chester.
Candidates are allowed to cross-file in school board elections in Pennsylvania because school boards are supposed to be above politics. What a joke that is, if not an outright lie. Consider the election for Region C in the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District.
There were five candidates for three positions. Of those five, three are registered Democrats and two registered Republicans. All five were on both the R and the D ballots. The three endorsed Democrats led the voting on their party’s ballot, and the two Republicans did likewise on their ballot. So, all five will be on the ballot in November. The two parties could have nominated their people in their respective conventions or caucuses and saved the taxpayers some money.
But the situation in the West Chester primary was ridiculous. All the candidates on the two old party ballots will be on the November ballot, but one of those candidates, Peggy Schmitt, was prohibited from voting because she’s a registered Libertarian. Not an R or D? You can’t vote.
Schmitt, along with every other Libertarian, Green, Keystone, and Constitution party member, and everyone registered as independent are not allowed to vote in Pennsylvania primary elections. So much for inclusivity.
An open primary would fix that, but is that good enough? In a word, no. Primaries are not much more than political theater, cranking up the hype of a bogus two-party system. Political thought is more than left/right, liberal/conservative, Democrat/Republican. To pretend otherwise is like using a map, compass, or GPS that only shows east and west movement. You’ll never get anywhere, not that way.
Republicans and Democrats should be doing what other parties, such as the Libertarian Party, do, by electing candidates in caucuses or conventions that those parties pay for themselves, not with tax money.
Pennsylvania is one of 24 states that have closed primaries. Of the remaining 26, nine are open only for voters not registered with a given party. Those who are registered with a party can only vote in their party’s primary, just like in a closed primary.
Another 15 states allow voters to choose which party’s ballot they want, regardless of their own party affiliation.
The remaining two states, California and Washington hold what they call “Top-Two Primaries.” Those states list all the candidates on the ballot and the candidates’ party preferences are listed. The top two vote-getters then wind up on the ballot in the November general election. (That seems like a poor man’s version of ranked-choice voting, which is a subject for another time.)
Still, the best thing would be to end the primary election system. Doing so would save tax dollars, pare down the mainstream media hype, and place the responsibility of paying on those parties alone. The presidential nominating conventions held by Democrats and Republicans should also be paid for by the parties, not the taxpayer.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
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