Latest news with #OpenPrimaries
CNN
4 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
Petitioners advocate for open primaries in Pennsylvania
Political Science Professor Seth Masket and Senior Vice-President of Open Primaries Jeremy Gruber join Michael Smerconish to debate the benefits and drawbacks of open primaries in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Al Arabiya
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Independents who want to vote in pennsylvania's closed primaries seek help from state's high court
The Department of State was named as respondent to the lawsuit, along with the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Secretary of State Al Schmidt, who serves under Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro. A department spokesperson said Tuesday that the lawsuit was being reviewed. 'It might be suggested that (the) petitioners have brought exclusion on themselves by choosing to not identify as members of a political party,' the four voters argued in the lawsuit. They said that ignores how the state constitution's Free and Equal Elections Clause is designed to equalize voters' power, regardless of their faction (or lack thereof) and regardless of their individual political viewpoints. Jeremy Gruber, senior vice president with New York-based Open Primaries, a group that campaigns for more open primaries among the states, says Pennsylvania is among 14 states with closed primaries. New Mexico this year passed a law allowing voters with no party affiliation to vote in primary elections without changing their nonpartisan status. Lawsuits are pending in Wyoming, Oregon, and Maryland, Gruber said. It's unclear when the Supreme Court will rule on the request that it take up the case directly. Three of its seven justices, all Democrats, face up-or-down statewide retention votes this fall, with voters deciding whether they should get additional 10-year terms. When an open primary bill was passed in May by the Pennsylvania House State Government Committee, all Democrats were in favor and all Republicans opposed. It remains pending in the House. 'I've always said the primary's not the election–the primary's the nomination,' House Republican Leader Jesse Topper of Bedford County said in the Capitol on Tuesday. Topper left the door slightly open on the topic, saying he is always willing to give it a fresh set of eyes. The sponsor of the House bill, state Rep. Jared Solomon, a Philadelphia Democrat, said unaffiliated voters pay into the system, prop up the election system, and get zero in return and no vote. 'It is not a partisan issue at all.' Pennsylvania's nearly 8.9 million registered voters include some 3.8 million Democrats, 3.6 million Republicans, and about 1.4 million others. The four voters who sued are broadcaster and political commentator Michael Smerconish, grocery story owner Jeffery Doty, physical therapist Rachel Shanok, and David Thornburgh, son of former Republican Gov. Richard Thornburgh and head of Ballot PA Action, a group that advocates for open primaries.
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Out-of-state groups think influencing Idaho politics is ‘cheap.' Lawmakers want transparency
Lawmakers made stark warnings Friday about out-of-state money in Idaho elections. Last year's election cycle saw 'unprecedented' amounts of out-of-state campaign spending, Senate Majority Leader Kelly Anthon, R-Burley, said at a press conference. Large expenditures focused on attack ads and — this legislative session — on introducing bills that 'were not going to go anywhere and (would) jam up our system,' added Rep. Brent Crane, R-Nampa. 'Idahoans need to wake up and see how this out-of-state money is really hurting the process of legislation in Idaho,' Anthon said. 'It's going to hurt our policymaking. It's going to hurt our politics, and, ultimately, it's really going to hurt Idaho.' Lawmakers introduced two bills in the House State Affairs Committee — of which Crane is the chairman — to change campaign finance transparency rules in Idaho. Existing state law is 'very dated,' said Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane, a fellow Republican. The bills aim to increase the frequency and detail of reporting out-of-state donations, as well as lobbyists' spending. They also would increase limits on individuals' campaign contributions and simplify the donation reporting process. Idahoans for Open Primaries was the biggest spender in the 2024 election, according to the Secretary of State's campaign finance tracking website. The group received nearly $5.6 million in donations — $4.5 million of which came from out of state. Idaho Federation for Children PAC — with ties to the Maryland-based American Federation for Children, the top pro-school choice group in the country — received $560,000 in out-of-state funding in 2024, according to the campaign finance site. Increasing the frequency of reporting will help lawmakers see who paid for an attack ad, and also allow voters to see who mailed them a campaign flyer, McGrane said. 'I think Idahoans have a right to know who's trying to influence them in their opinions,' he said. Idaho isn't the only state adjusting to the increasing 'monetization of politics,' as Crane put it during the press conference. But Idaho saw a particularly large spike in the 2024 election cycle, lawmakers said. Special-interest groups may believe their dollars go further in Idaho than in other states — that 'it's cheap to get control' here, House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star, said at the event. Plus, McGrane said, as people move to Idaho from other states, they may bring their politics and strategies with them. 'A lot of the people that are moving here are fleeing from somewhere else where it's been really bad, and they're afraid that what they left is going to happen in Idaho,' Moyle said. 'So now you have these out-of-state groups playing on that. They're trying to utilize that as a source of revenue.' Both bills were introduced unanimously, which clears the way for the committee to hold public hearings in the near future. Crane asked the committee to hold the bills for two weeks to allow for them to be discussed in caucus and 'percolate' among lawmakers. In the same committee meeting, lawmakers introduced bills to make libel a 'felony crime' and to allow political candidates who believe they have been libeled to submit the material to the Secretary of State Office. If the secretary of state found the claims to be false, the office would publish its findings on its website, according to the proposal. The committee voted unanimously to give both bills a public hearing. Lawmakers also held a public hearing for a bill that would increase the security of ballots and make them harder to tamper with, counterfeit or duplicate, while avoiding tying the ballots to specific voters' identities. County clerks from Ada, Canyon and Kootenai counties testified in favor of the bill. Reporter Ian Max Stevenson contributed. This is the most expensive political race in Idaho. Will a Democrat keep his seat? Idahoans deserve better: The alarming truth about big money in political campaigns | Opinion
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Despite no evidence of abuse of initiative process, bill raises bar for Idaho ballot measures
A line of supporters of the Idahoans for Open Primaries — many wearing mustard yellow T-shirts — pass signatures for the ballot initiative to turn into the Idaho Secretary of State's Office on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (Kyle Pfannenstiel/Idaho Capital Sun) The Idaho Constitution gives people the right to pass legislation through initiative and referendum. Article III Section 1 was amended in 1912: SECTION 1. LEGISLATIVE POWER —ENACTING CLAUSE — REFERENDUM — INITIATIVE. The legislative power of the state shall be vested in a Senate and House of Representatives. The enacting clause of every bill shall be: 'Be it enacted by the legislature of the State of Idaho.' The people reserve the power to approve or reject at the polls any act or measure passed by the Legislature. This power is known as the referendum, and voters may, under conditions and manner provided by acts of the Legislature, demand a referendum on any act or measure and cause it to be submitted to a vote of the people for approval or rejection. Idaho representative introduces bill to raise voting threshold to 60% for ballot initiatives The people reserve the right to propose laws and enact them at the polls independent of the Legislature. This power is known as the initiative, and legal voters may, under conditions and manner provided by acts of the legislature, initiate any desired legislation and cause it to be submitted to a vote at a general election for approval or rejection. Twenty-one years after passage of the 1912 amendment, the Legislature established the process in 1933. The first referendum in 1936 rejected a 2% sales tax. The first initiative in 1938 established the Idaho Fish and Game Commission, which voters approved. Since 1933, citizens have used the initiative 31 times and the referendum seven times — 38 total uses in 92 years, showing no abuse of the process. Currently, placing an initiative or referendum on the ballot requires signatures from 6% of voters in the last general election and 6% from 18 of Idaho's 35 counties. In Idaho, bills become law with a majority legislative vote. The question remains: Why should citizen initiatives require 60%? Over 92 years, only 39% of initiatives and referendums reached the 60% threshold, while 61% reached 50%. During this period, voters passed 15 initiatives (48%) and rejected 16 (52%). The chairperson and Republican members fear citizen group Reclaim Idaho will attempt to place another initiative to open the closed primary system. Raising voter approval rates would make passing citizen initiatives nearly impossible. This change could violate Article III Section 1 of the Idaho Constitution, leaving the Idaho Supreme Court to determine constitutionality. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
