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ARIZONA:
The Make Elections Fair Campaign’s challenge of a draft of the voter
election guide was dismissed by the Arizona Supreme
Court. A trial court had ruled that the
legislature’s description does not supply the proper context on voter
ranking and renders the description misleading. But the Arizona
Supreme Court disagreed.
IDAHO:
The fight for open primaries is
continuing to take center stage in the Idaho press as Measure 1 for
Top 4 Open Primaries/RCV heads to the ballot in November.
Taylor Jenkins, a life-long
independent voter from Nampa, forcefully makes the case why open primaries
are a vote rights issue.
Meanwhile, former State Atorney General Jim Jones takes on many of the myths driving the opposition’s campaign against
the measure.
FLORIDA:
In dozens of Florida counties, as
many as two thirds of Florida registered voters-independents and party
voters alike-were shut out of the state’s recent primary election.
It’s called the write-in loophole, and both parties have been
exploiting it for years. Now the Sun Sentinel Editorial Baord is
calling for reform.
SOUTH DAKOTA:
96,000 South Dakotans have watched
Let Us Vote’s video showcasing the leaders of South Dakota Open Primaries and the campaign for Amendment H for top
two open primaries.
TENNESSEE:
Rep. John Ragan of Oak Ridge, a
state representative who lost his primary election this year, is
blaming the state’s open primary for his loss and is calling it “immoral.” Now he’s calling on the state Repubican Party
and the legislature to investigate whether Democrats voted for his opponent. *Note that Tennessee
has nonpartisan voter registration.
UTAH:
Last month, the Utah Supreme Court
ruled against the state legislature in a landmark ruling prohibiting
them from amending voter passed ballot initiatives. Just this week,
the legislature called a special session and put a new initiative on the ballot this
November that would
essentially block that ruling and put total power back in the hands of
the legislature; essentially neutering the ballot initiative process
in the state.
WYOMING:
Lat year the state legislature
changed voter registration laws to essentially close the state
primaries. In the first primary election since, voter turnout dropped
to a new low, with approximately 20% of registered voters deciding
roughly 80% of the representation in the state capital. Now the Jackson Hole News ands other state papers are calling for
open primaries.
NATIONAL:
Independentvoting.org President
Jackie Salit digs deep into the end of RFK Jr’s independent bid
for President and the future of the independent movement.
Also, in a nationally syndicated piece, Tyler Fisher and Carlo Macomber discuss
Unite America’s poll on independent voters released earlier this year and what we can
learn from them heading into the 2024 election. They end with a stark
warning:
Without reform, the major
parties will likely continue to struggle to appeal to independents,
and voters will continue to abandon the parties.
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