New open primary system expected to spur voter turnout

Tuesday, June 2, 1998

New open primary system expected to spur voter turnout

ELECTIONS: Candidates attempt to appeal across party lines to
win votes

By Lawrence Ferchaw

Daily Bruin Staff

Today’s primary elections, California’s first open primary after
the passage of a 1996 ballot measure, have increased the size of
the ballot and raised concern for the integrity of the political
system.

The new primary system has been challenged by political parties,
scrutinized by strategists, and may spark the highest voter turnout
in a gubernatorial primary since 1978.

Previously, voters could only vote for the party under which
they were registered. Now, voters can select from any candidate
running for office, just as in the November general election. The
candidates who win the most votes in each party will face off in
the fall.

Despite the passage of the initiative by voters, political party
leaders are unhappy about the new primaries.

"The open primary speaks against the whole purpose of what
political parties should be," said Mike Madrid, political director
for the California Republican Party.

He said the purpose of primaries is for voters to choose people
from their own parties, not for any voter to choose any
candidate.

Party officials challenged the open primary rule in court last
year. Their challenge was rejected by the court, creating an open
primary system in California which has held closed primaries since
1909.

The open primary translates into a ballot that lists 17
candidates for governor, 13 for the U.S. Senate seat and 60 for the
other statewide offices. Add to that the nine propositions,
congressional candidates, state legislators and local offices, and
voters will get the longest primary ballot they have ever seen.

"We don’t know what the impact will be," said Kam Kuwata,
campaign manager for gubernatorial candidate Jane Harman. "Most
people don’t know there’s a so-called open primary."

Because of this, Harman’s campaign has done little differently
from what they would have done in a closed primary, he said.

The one exception is some targeted mail sent to Republican
voters pointing out Harman’s position on issues that may attract
these voters to crossover party lines.

While those involved with Harman’s campaign said they have done
little differently, Al Checchi’s campaign for governor was created
with the open primary in mind, according to his campaign
manager.

"We have been reaching out to all voters," said Darry Sragow.
"We’ve sent mail to not just Democrats, but others including
Republicans and independents."

Political insiders have charged that Checchi avoided identifying
himself as a Democrat in his early television advertising to
attract other voters who could vote for him.

"On television, we tried to repeat the experience Al had
traveling the state," Sragow said. "People wanted to know who he
was, but very rarely was he asked his party affiliation."

Campaign officials are unsure of how many voters will be
affected by campaign material and crossover to another political
party.

"My expectation is there will be a significant but small
percentage who crossover," Kuwata said.

Checchi’s campaign predicts that as many as 25 percent of
Republicans would consider voting for a Democrat, while only 10
percent of Democrats would consider voting for a Republican.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Lungren has advertised
himself, although he has no major Republican opponent running
against him. Some political insiders attribute this to his fear
that Republican voters may crossover and vote for a Democrat.

"No candidate has ever gotten this much support by advertising
this little," Madrid said.

He added that because of the open primary, Republicans have
campaigned for Latino support. This is something they did not do
before since more than 65 percent of Latinos are registered as
Democrats and could not vote for Republicans in the primary.

"Never before have we had the opportunity to speak to Latinos
pre-primary," Madrid added.

Paul Frymer, a political science professor, believes the open
primary has the potential to weaken political parties but has not
in this election.

"This time, the open primary will not have much effect because
party candidates will win," Frymer said.

The Center for Voting and Democracy, a non-partisan political
organization that studies voter representation, doubts that the
open primary will have an effect.

"Most Assembly districts will never be competitive because a
clear majority of voters in these districts prefer one political
party over the other," said Steven Hill, director of the center, in
a statement.

Despite this, the Secretary of State Bill Jones expects a higher
turnout in this year’s gubernatorial primary than in previous years
and attributes much of this to the open primary.

"Voters will have an unprecedented number of choices for this
primary election and we expect substantially improved participation
as a result," Jones said in a statement.