OT: California primary voters - please read this urgent info re: party registration and our so-called "open" primary -

greenspun.com : LUSENET : TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) : One Thread

Hello folks,

Here in California the presidential primary happens March 7th. Registration to be able to vote in this primary, ends at 5:00 pm on Monday, February 7th (or registration cards must be postmarked by then).

About 2 years ago we voted to make our presidential primary "open" - I naively thought that I could vote in the primary for the person, not the party - I decided to register "declined to state". I recently learned that though I CAN vote for whichever candidate I choose, regardless of party, my vote will not be considered by the party when they choose their nominee - their bylaws forbid it - so I am re-registering as Republican so I may help McCain win the nomination. Otherwise my primary vote for him would have been like pissing into the wind....

I am extremely concerned that Californian voters do not understand that if they vote in the upcoming presidential primary and ARE NOT registered by Mon., Feb. 7 in the party of the candidate they wish to help then THEIR VOTE WILL HAVE NO EFFECT ON THE OUTCOME.

Most voters in Calif. do not know this. Most think that we can vote for whomever in the primary and the party affiliation doesn't "matter" anymore. The problem is that we CAN vote but the respective parties' bylaws forbid out-of-party voters from influencing the nominations. The votes will be separated out so that the parties will only look at those made by registered members of their parties. The Secretary of State's Office is putting a notice out in voter pamphlets but by the time voters get those, it is too late to re-register if need be.

Please email me for more information and I will give contact info. for the Sect'y of State and others to confirm what I am saying.

Please help the voters of California avoid a terrible crisis.

Thank you, Kristi Cozad 530-822-9238

-- Kristi (securxsys@cs.com), February 03, 2000

Answers

So sorry for the double post - I spotted a typo while the first posting was processing and clicked to stop it before it finished - and thought I succeeded.... oooopppssss!.....sigh...

-- Kristi (securxsys@cs.com), February 03, 2000.

Kristi,

Good info. One suggestion though, check out Alan Keyes for President in 2000 before you make a final decision on a candidate.

Thanks.

-- Powder (Powder47keg@aol.com), February 03, 2000.


Powder,

Thanks for the suggestion - I actually was watching Keyes closely though I kept coming back to McCain. Then I saw the recent television footage of Keyes in the classroom of small children saying something like "Now if I were to bash your head in and kill you, that would be wrong, wouldn't it?" - yikes.

-- Kristi (securxsys@cs.com), February 03, 2000.


Yeah, I saw it too, but in all fairness, it was probably taken out of context.

-- Powder (Powder47keg@aol.com), February 03, 2000.

Powder,

I agree that it may have been taken out of context but I still feel it was inappropriate. One of the methods I used to select McCain was imagining a tense/impending conflict or other crisis with someplace (Russia?) and who would I want to see stepping down from Air Force 1 to deal with it? In my mind, McCain wins, hands down.

-- Kristi (securxsys@cs.com), February 03, 2000.



Kudos to you Kristi: I will be voting for Keyes but your kind of grass roots involvement is what makes our country great.

-- Dana (A_Non_O_Moose@xxx.com), February 03, 2000.

I second that emotion...

-- Powder (Powder47keg@aol.com), February 03, 2000.

I have been watching "Biography" on cable TV. McCain was a POW in VietNam. Due to the position his father head of the Foriegn Armed Services (I think it is called) whatever is was, his Father was head of all of the troops overseas, anyway, the Viet Con were trying to release McCain because of his fater. McCain refused to go, unless all of the POW's were released.

He ended up being tortured for his efforts.

I have a LOT of respect for him because of what he did. My own Father spent 3 1/2 years in a Japanese POW camp in Manchuria China and was on The Bataan Death March in WWII, so this hits close to home for me.

I will be watching the Biographies of all of the other candidates also. I appreciate the fact that they are there for me/us to see so we can get background on the candidates.

I wish they did the same thing for State/County/City candidates and the issues (unbiased).

You can check your local listings to see when the Biographies are aired, I believe they show them a number of times.

-- Cherri (sams@brigadoon.com), February 03, 2000.


Humm. Thanks Kristi.

Can't quite bring myself to register as a Republican though.

*Sigh*

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), February 03, 2000.


Diane,

I understand. It was after listening to Republicans like Dick Armey, Trent Lott, Jim Nicholson, etc. that I left the Republican Party - I am very conservative on some issues and very liberal on others..... I have seen quite a few long time Democrats re-registering as Republicans just for this primary and will switch back after. They stated that if this is what it takes to get a good person for President then they will do it. The system is broke - we do what we must to make it work.

Many thanks to you all!

-- Kristi (securxsys@cs.com), February 03, 2000.



Kristi:

If that were true, none of the votes in my state's primary would count. Here you just register to vote. There is no option of stating party affiliation.

Best wishes,,,,

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), February 03, 2000.


Kristi:

Or did you mean that this rule just applies to California?

Best wishes,,,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), February 03, 2000.


Hi Z,

Yes, I am talking about California. I am glad that you aren't restricted like this - what state are you in?

The big problem is that this is the first presidential primary since the Prop. 198 passed so very few people understand this point (but I am doing my best!). At least 12% of California's registered voters are "Declined to State" therefore need to re-register by Monday if they want their primary vote to "matter". Not to mention all the others who might wish to vote outside their party..... I am just hoping to help avoid people feeling sucker punched when they learn their vote was just a token...

-- Kristi (securxsys@cs.com), February 03, 2000.


Kristi:

Salon agrees with you:

Primary Booby Trap

You could have written the article.

Best wishes,,,,

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), February 04, 2000.


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