Posted on 06/05/2019 1:14:24 PM PDT by Jack Black
This article lays out details of Washington's new Democratic Party Primary System. Previously the state has used the caucus system to select delegates, and the primary was a "beauty contest". Under those rules in 2016 Bernie won 75% of the delegates at the caucus, but Hillary won 51% of the vote in primary (but didn't get any delegates because of it).
Other important background to what is happening here is the the Democrats have had pretty much total control of the state for 20 years now, and as Democrats are wont to do, have slowly changed the rules to favor them.
The biggest change we had was the "jungle primary" and non partisan elections. This change came about 10 years ago, and was promoted by the Washington Grange (supposedly a rural organization, but probably captured by tars a while ago).
So the primary you get a book with 40 or 50 people running for the Senate, and each of them can put a page of "ballot statement" and can also fill in the "Party Preferred" box on that page.
The parties have zero say, anyone who wants to pay the $300 can get on the ballot and say "Republican" or "Democrat" in the party preferred field.
The top two vote-getters face off in the general election, regardless of "party preference". California has also moved to this "jungle primary" or "Louisiana primary" system. In California the Democratic dream was realized when the most recent U.S. Senate election featured ONLY two Democrats in the General Election: Diane Feinstein vs Kevin de León. Diane won 6 million to 5 million - but the one thing we knew going into election night was that the Dems would hold the seat.
Back to Washington State: because of the jungle primary there is no longer any party registration as part of the voter registration. All voters are defacto independents - by law. (Essentially the Dems neutered the Republican with this law, and yeah, it effects them, but not as much). Until now.
Remember as you read this - what is described as "may" is now happening. The law was signed by our Governor, so this is how things will go down in 2020.
OLYMPIA – Washington voters could help select the Democratic and Republican nominees for president in 2020, but only if they are willing to indicate they consider themselves a member of the party of the candidate they back.
A bill the state Senate passed Wednesday on a mostly partisan vote would give the state a presidential primary on the second Tuesday in March – rather than in late May, as required by current law – and meet national party rules for deciding how delegates are awarded.
But to cast a ballot, Washington voters, who don’t register by party, would have to say they are a Democrat or a Republican for the presidential primary. Registration rules wouldn’t change, and other primaries would remain the current top two system.
Those who consider themselves independent and refuse to pick a party for the presidential primary wouldn’t have a way to show their preference.
“This is a sort of fine line we have to walk,” said Sen. Sam Hunt, D-Olympia, the bill’s sponsor. “We can’t do everything we want.”
National party rules require that only party members get to select their nominee. In the past, that kept Democrats from using the state’s presidential primary, which sometimes has provided an “unaffiliated” option with both parties’ candidates, as an option. Washington Democrats have, instead, based their delegate selections on the caucus system while Washington Republicans have sometimes used the primary to apportion some or all of their national delegates.
Voters will sign for party affiliation on the ballot, 60 days after the election it will be erased from their registration (per the Secretary of State's office), but in that window it is public information. This will allow the parties to "harvest" the names of everyone who claimed to be a Democrat to vote in the primary.
Oh, yes, one other important point: all voting in Washington State is now "Vote by Mail".
So here is the net net: Every single Republican voter will be getting a ballot for the 2020 Primary, a ballot that will allow them to choose to either sign and vote as a Democrat, or to sign and vote as a Republican, or not sign as either and not vote in the primary. (There may be other local elections on this ballot, there usually are.)
In 2016 Hillary beat Trump by 1.7 million to 1.2 million votes.
Now imagine the impact that 1.2 million Republicans can have on the Washington State Democratic Primary!! It's exciting to think about, isn't it?
I assume that by mid March it will already be clear that Trump will be the nominee of the GOP, so why waste a vote merely piling on the done deed.
Instead Washington Republicans and Conservatives have a golden opportunity to express our frustration with the Democratic gaming of the election system by mass-voting in some pre-determined disruptive fashion.
One obvious goal would be to support the candidate running 2nd or 3rd, in an attempt to drive the Democrats to a brokered convention.
Under 2020 rules the Democratic convention only allows 'apportioned' delegates (those elected) to vote in the first round.
This is in response to anger by Bernie Supporters about the Super Delegates putting Hillary over the top.
The convention will have 3,768 (first ballot) or 4,532 (second and subsequent ballots) delegates. The extra 765 delegates that are added after a non-decisive first round are the same hated Super Delegates that decided the outcome last time.
A great outcome for Trump would be a first round where there is a three-way split, say between Biden, Warren and Bernie. The second round the Super Delegates will come in an pick someone (not Bernie, I think we can be pretty sure of that.)
>Washington State Democrats need to experience the wonders of the new "Jungle Primary System" they have promoted, good and hard. Let's give it to them!
Maybe it's time to fight back. With our ballots.
There should be NO taxpayer-funded primary voting system. ALL parties should select their nomineesstrictly by caucus, and pay for it with party funds.
The only taxpayer-funded election should be the “general” election, in which the caucus-nominated candidates face each other.
The Only Good Dhimmicrat is a Dead Dhimmicrat
Thank you! I will do EXACTLY that, and I’m going to post this info on my facebook page for all my other conservative friends who would do the same. Hee hee.... Time to turn the tables.
Well that was the old "smokey back rooms" system of the 19th Century. Ordinary people mostly had zero say in who got nominated for anything, it was all horse trading between insiders.
Washington, Oregon and California were all hotbeds of the first original Progressive movement.
One of the principle aims of the original progressives (Teddy Roosevelt era) was to make the political system more open.
So our states got things like primaries, where ordinary people could vote on who their candidates would be in the general election. And we have recall elections (which are unheard of in most Eastern states) -- remember how California recalled the Gov. and that is how Arnold got the job? And we have citizen initiatives.
It's interesting that today's liberals are undoing the progressive reforms of yesterday's liberals.
When I think of Louisiana I don't think of fair and open government. I think of multigeneration corruption. So it's ironic we've gone to the Louisiana system.
Washington should back Seth Moulton.
Keep voting Democrat morons
It so happens that I am from Louisiana, and lived there during the transition from the essentially single-party system that caused that "multigeneration corruption" to the so-called "jungle primary". It was precisely that so-called "jungle primary" the broke the back of that corruption, ushering in a far less corrupt era of government.
Far from being a great evil as depicted in most discussions of the open primary, the practical effect was hugely a net positive for the people of the state of Louisiana.
My position, though, is driven by the idea that tax dollars should not be spent on political party activities.
That's good to hear. I guess we're going to have a few more experiments with it.
California was not a one-party State during most of the era of major party primaries, but it's become one now. I think immigration has more to do with that than the jungle primary system.
However when you get to the point that the general election is Democrat A vs. Democrat B somehow (and 40% of the State is still Republican) then I'm not seeing the advantage of the jungle system.
We're still getting started with our system in Washington. Washington used to be a purple state, but has turned mostly blue, although there are still GOP Congressional districts here.
For California and Washington the question is does the Jungle system help or hurt the minority party (GOP), because if they sink too far we will both be one party states.
What sort of system did LA have before the Jungle Primary? Was it party primaries, or some other system. As I said in my comment above: primaries (or any type) were a good government reform of the Progressives, designed to give ordinary people SOME input on who would be ruling them. If LA went from a closed caucus system to the Jungle Primary, yes, I would expect that would be an improvement. And in a true one party state maybe it is a good system for breaking up family monopolies.
Also coincidentally, after leaving Louisiana, I moved to and lived in Washington state for twenty years (just left and moved to Texas).
I think you’re right about immigration being more responsible than the “jungle primary” in both cases. For California, illegals from Mexico moving in and voting as Californians. For Washington, Californians who left California because of the Mexicans and brought their voting patterns with them.
But I’ve seen the “jungle primary” imposed new twice, and I am convinced it is not the evil creature people are painting it as.
I see I failed to answer one of your questions. Pre-”jungle primary”, Louisiana had a party primary system. Of course, the number of live registered Republicans was so small that in order “for their vote to have an effect”, pretty much everyone registered Democrat.....so effectively, Louisiana had a de-facto one party system.
I sent your great strategy to KC GOP Chair, Cynthia Cole. I will await her response . . .
“Maybe” BS... Been saying the same thing... HERE... for 20 years... Told I was jumping the gun. There’s still hope. We can still vote them out.
It was TIME then, it’s TIME now. Even when Trump wins in 2020, the Socialists will never give up.
Until we hang or execute enough of them. Make lesson of them History CANNOT forget.
They’d do the same to every one of us RIGHT now if they thought they could get away with it.
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