Connecticut Must Open Primaries, Judge Rules

A month after striking down the nation’s most restrictive primary system, a judge ordered Connecticut on Monday to open its September elections to any resident belonging to a political party.

State officials immediately appealed, saying that dozens, even hundreds, of people may try to enter the primary just a month before election day.

“I am distressed about the potential chaos,” Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz said. “We have no way of knowing, so close to the election, how many candidates will come forward.”

Senior U.S. District Judge Peter Dorsey’s ruling affects candidates for state offices and for Congress in districts encompassing more than one town. Any resident who belongs to a political party and provides an address on a form can run.

Last month, Dorsey struck down a law requiring challengers to party nominees to get support from at least 15% of their district delegates before they could appear on the ballot.

He ruled that the law favored incumbents and placed too great a burden on challengers.

The primary system was the nation’s most restrictive, according to the state’s chapter of Common Cause. All other states allow candidates to obtain signatures or pay a fee to get on the ballot.

The latest ruling follows a request by two political hopefuls who asked the judge to give them a way to get on the ballot.

“I think this is a great victory for democracy in Connecticut,” said Elizabeth Daniels, a lawyer for the Brennan Center for Justice in New York who represented Edwin Gomes and Jim Campbell.

Gomes, a Democrat, was the first person to fill out the new form Monday. He entered a primary against state Sen. Alvin Penn of Bridgeport.

“I’m on the ballot,” Gomes said. “We’re ready.”

The state’s appeal was to be heard Friday by the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York.

Lawmakers said the judge had overstepped his bounds by changing the law before they had a chance to create a new primary system.

“This judge owes the Legislature the right to come up with a legislative remedy,” said state Senate President Pro Tem Kevin Sullivan.

But Dorsey in his ruling criticized the Legislature for failing to fix the system. He also noted that legislative leaders had indicated that the issue would not be reconsidered until 2003.