BACKGROUND:

Every state has adopted different rules for their Primary Elections.  Some states have closed primaries – each major political party has a primary and only members of that party are allowed to vote.  Some states allow cross-over voting – the political parties each have a separate primary, but voters can choose in which primary they want to vote.  And some states have a non-partisan or “Open Primary” system – where all candidates appear on the ballot together and all voters participate in the same election.

In 2024, my home state of South Dakota is being given the option of moving to an Open Primary through a proposed Amendment to the State Constitution.  The amendment is relatively simple – all candidates will be placed on the same ballot;  all registered voters are allowed to vote;  the top two vote getters will then appear on the general election ballot for the final decision of the voters.

South Dakota is a heavily Republican state.  I have been a Republican since 1972 when I was S.D. Teen Age Republican Secretary.  As an adult, I was elected four times to the South Dakota House of Representatives.  I was the Assistant Majority Leader of the Republican Caucus.  I believe that an Open Primary is a critical step needed to strengthen the ethic and the logistics of our democracy.  I think this is true in South Dakota.  I would encourage an Open Primary to be adopted by all states, regardless of which political party might be most prevalent.  My reasons are many.  But, below are seven reasons for supporting an Open Primary System…

REASON #1 of 7: EVERYONE should ALWAYS get to vote!

The most fundamental principle of any democracy is the concept of ONE PERSON / ONE VOTE.  Every citizen gets to vote and every citizen is treated equally.  This is particularly critical in districts and states where one party dominates – no one should be left out of the electoral process…ever!  Unlike other countries around the world, we don’t require someone to own land before they can vote.  We don’t require someone to join a specific religion before they can vote.  We should not require that someone must join a political party in order to vote.

REASON #2 of 7: Political Parties should not CONTROL (directly or indirectly) our election process!

Political parties do not appear in the U.S Constitution.  They are NOT part of our government or our democracy.  Political parties are Special Interest Groups formed to influence elections and public policy – no different than a labor union, a Political Action Committee, or a professional association. When a voter is forced to join a specific political party in order to vote in a Primary Election, we are letting political parties control our democracy.  Requiring people to join a political party in order to participate in an election is quite similar to the political systems you find in China or Russia, where you have to be a party member to participate.  South Dakota is a “Right to Work State” – you don’t have to join a union to have a job – EVERY state should be a “Right to Vote State” – you should not have to join a political party to vote!

REASON #3:  TAX DOLLARS should not be used for partisan politics. 

When a political party seeks to endorse one person in an election… or when a political party is choosing delegates to attend its convention… or when a political party is electing partisans to serve on their central governing committee… they are conducting POLITICAL business.  No different than a Labor Union electing its leaders, or the Chamber of Commerce electing its officers, or a private corporation electing its Board of Directors.  Tax dollars and tax-paid county officials should not be used to do this political work.  And yet, that is exactly what is happening in our current system.  The Primary Election – funded by tax dollars – is being used by political parties to conduct their private business.  It’s just not right.  Tax dollars should be used for the public good, not for political pursuits.  If tax dollars are used for a primary election, then ALL taxpayers should be able to participate.  Tax dollars should definitely not be used for a system that purposely excludes tens of thousands of voters from the process… just because they are registered as an independent or because they live in a district where their political party does not have an election. 

REASON #4:  All voters should have a CHOICE in the Final Election! 

In a general election that is the last step in choosing our elected officials, voters should always have a choice between two different candidates.  Only in one-party systems, like Russia or China, do voters walk into the ballot box to vote for the ONLY candidate on the ballot.  Yet, this “no choice election” happens far too often in places (like South Dakota) where one political party dominates.  When registration is lopsided in favor of one political party, it is not uncommon for all the candidates running for office to be of that same political party as well.  There’s nothing wrong with that!  But, when all those candidates appear in a partisan primary election that allows ONLY people of a specific party to vote…AND when the winner of that restricted primary becomes the overall winner by default, democracy is no longer at work.  When a Primary Election determines the final winner, and if not all people got to vote, then we are allowing individuals to be elected to office without all the people being able to vote for (or against) them.  Not much different than the old “taxation without representation” argument – we have elected officials making decisions for people who were DENIED the opportunity to participate in the election that mattered most.

REASON #5:  Elected Officials should be elected by a MAJORITY of voters!  

It’s a simple concept – a leader should get more than half of the final votes to be elected.  Unfortunately, many states allow more than two candidates to be on the final General Election ballot for any single elected position – Republicans, Democrats, Third Party Candidates, and Independents.  So, if 3 or more candidates are running for office, the person with the most votes – not a majority of voters – gets elected.  In other words, an elected official could be OPPOSED by a MAJORITY of voters and still get elected!  Minority rule is not how a democracy should work!  In an Open Primary system, the top two vote-getters face off in the General Election.  These candidates may not be your favorite candidates, but at least ALL the PEOPLE will have a CHOICE…and the winner will have to convince more than half of the voters that they are the better of the two candidates.

REASON #6 of 7:  Elected Officials must not be held HOSTAGE by a MINORITY.

An elected official can never keep all the people happy all the time.  But, an elected official does, in fact, need to SERVE ALL the people…ALL the time.  And they should answer to ALL the people for their actions when it comes time for re-election.  Unfortunately, in a closed primary system, a small minority of partisans can kick an incumbent out of office because THEY are unhappy…regardless of what the MAJORITY might want.  In fact, in the 2024 South Dakota Primary, only 17% of registered voters participating, and yet 10% of the state’s legislators were kicked out of office in their partisan primary races.

You might ask… “What’s wrong with that?”  The answer…everything!  If an elected official can be kicked out of office by a small number of political operatives – not by the WHOLE electorate -- then the public is no longer being represented or served.  The incumbent will end up serving the FEW, not the MANY.  That’s not democracy for all…it’s the tyranny of politics over people.  The FEW controlling our elected officials.

REASON #7 of 7:  Elections and “Election Promises” will be more HONEST. 

It’s not much of a secret that candidates for office change their “pitch” and alter their positions between the Primary election in June and the general election in November.  When politicians are on the Primary ballot, they spend all their energy “preaching to their choirs” and “shoring up their bases”.    Conservatives try to be more conservative, and liberals try to become more liberal.  Then, if successful in the primary election, those same candidates “run to the center” to show how even-handed and non-partisan they can be.  This flipping between one extreme and the other makes it almost impossible to know what – or for whom  you are voting.  It is not surprising that the public becomes disenchanted and frustrated with the entire political process when politicians are encouraged by our current system to be two-faced and double-minded.  

CONCLUSION:  ONLY in a Democracy does PROCESS matter more than the OUTCOME.  An election system should not protect the views of one political party or give disproportionate power to one party.  In a democracy, our election systems must be designed to allow EVERYONE to be heard…ALL THE TIME.  Opponents to an Open Primary System often argue that candidates who are 100% faithful to a political party may have a harder time getting to the General Election.  That if MANY people vote, the preferences of the FEW might be out-voted.  But, that’s the point.  In a democracy, you celebrate when everyone gets to be heard…when everyone gets to vote.  You might be in the minority and a majority of the voters might choose differently than you would.  But, that IS a democracy.  And, so, if you truly love what democracy – and all it stands for – then you will support election reforms that make the ballot box more fair – not that make the ballot box more likely to deliver your preferred outcome!