Saving Primary Reform

The Legislature and Gov. Gray Davis have fashioned a reasonable means of allowing the national political parties to choose their convention delegates next March without violating the spirit of the state’s open primary law. Even so, open primary zealots insist that the measure, developed by Senate President Pro Tem John Burton (D-San Francisco), goes against voter wishes. Their spokesman, Marc Kirshbaum, says the group might sue to block the legislation if it becomes law.

Under the Burton bill, every voter could mark his or her choice for president among all candidates, Democrat, Republican or other, in the March 7 presidential primary. This result would be tallied and announced but would have no effect on selection of delegates to the party conventions. It would be what insiders call a beauty contest, an expression of popular sentiment only.

The ballots would be coded by party so there could then be a separate count--Democrats voting for Democratic candidates, Republicans for Republicans and so on. The votes of independents would not be counted because the national parties seat only delegations chosen exclusively by party members.

In this sense, the presidential primary is not strictly an election but part of the delegate-selection process. And the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled clearly and firmly that the parties--not the states--set the rules for delegate selection.

The authors of the open primary law recognized that voting in party matters was different. That is why they provided in their 1996 initiative for separate ballots for Democrats and Republicans in the election of their party central committee members. Why can’t they see that the same logic applies to the presidential primary? We urge them to reflect on this and then decide not to fight the Burton measure in court.