12/30/2004
Open those primaries
I doubt this will go anywhere, but a bill to amend the state constitution to allow open primaries has been pre-filed in both the House and Senate. As it stands now, primaries are open only when no opposing candidate from a second party appears. A candidate can avoid this by recruiting a phony-baloney write-in candidate to be that opposing candidate. The primary stays closed and the majority never gets a choice. This amendment would say write-ins don't count. It has to be a candidate whose name actually appears on the ballot.
