Will the Governor’s Elections Task Force consider open primaries instead of party primaries — the one reform that could be most meaningful to democracy in Arizona?
Most Americans are so disappointed in the two major political parties that they don’t belong to either party. They’re sick of Democrats and Republicans putting their own power ahead of what’s best for the state and country. They’re repulsed by toxic politicians demonizing each other.
Party primaries are too easily controlled by their most partisan party members — often far left Democrats and far right Republicans. Turnouts are low because most of us don’t vote in the party primaries.
That’s why so many of us often feel we have to choose between “the lesser of two evils” on election day.
In open primaries, all candidates — party members and independents — could be on the same ballot, with the top two vote-getters advancing to the general election.
All registered voters could participate, so the candidates would have to appeal to all of us, not just one extreme or the other. Isn’t that how our democracy should work?
Joe Smyth SCOTTSDALE
A retired journalist, Joe Smyth is the author of "Fixing America’s Broken Politics." The opinions expressed here are his own.
