Posted on 02/11/2016 5:42:51 AM PST by raccoonradio
Thousands may have mistakenly registered to vote with the United Independent Party in the Massachusetts presidential primary thinking their choice would let them draw a ballot for their favorite Republican or Democrat — only to learn later it doesn’t, the state’s top election official told the Herald.
In Massachusetts, voters not enrolled in a party can choose which primary to vote in. But the United Independent Party is a party like the others, and its members will get a blank UIP ballot unless they formally switched by midnight last night.
“My concern is this: I don’t want people who want to vote in a party primary to be disenfranchised because there was a mistake,†said Secretary of State William F. Galvin. “We are being required by law — because of the party’s existence — to print ballots with nothing on them.â€
More than 5,500 voters have switched their voting status to “unenrolled†from the United Independent Party since late January when the secretary’s office sent letters to the roughly 21,000 voters registered with the party, Galvin said.
Evan Falchuk, the party’s founder, expressed frustration, saying he was “stunned†by Galvin’s characterization that thousands made a mistake joining the party.
“I take them at their word that there were some people who made a mistake,†Falchuk said. “But the overwhelming response that I’ve had from members and from social media posts and calls and texts is people saying, ‘I know what I’m doing. I left the party because I want to vote in the primary, and I’ll be back.’ â€
He said the UIP has spent months informing members that they needed to un-enroll if they want to vote in the presidential primary, and that membership has seen a steady increase by a few thousand each month in recent months, as opposed to a drastic one-time spike.
“They just want to be able to vote,†Falchuk said. “We’ve been telling them that for weeks and weeks and weeks. ... This notion that there is this confusing thing going on and no one understands what’s happening — and we’re somehow taking advantage of it — is really misguided.â€
Falchuk said the party has launched an active voter registration push since it won its designation in November 2014, focusing on colleges, community centers and high schools, as well as social media outreach, helping build a base of new and young voters.
Galvin said the intense interest in the primary among non-traditional primary voters also fed the confusion.
“This part of the presidential cycle — unlike ’12 and even unlike ’08 — is bringing people to the activity that might not have been involved before because of the campaigns on both sides,†Galvin said. “They tend to be attracting people who are not traditional primary voters.â€
Give me another one of the Dum Bass beers, Seamus!
Do we really want Dum Basses voting at all!
The Fix has started!
Didn’t they already get to vote in the NH Primary?
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