Independence Party touts open primary

The Independent, Friday, December 13, 2002



By Richard Roth


Hillsdale – New York Independence Party has 260,000 members, making it the
largest “third party” in the country. Now the party wants to open its
primaries to another 2.2 million registered voters – 20% of the electorate –
who are currently unaffiliated with any political party.

State Chairman Frank MacKay will propose a change to the Independence Party’
s bylaws when the party convenes on February 2003. “I except it to passed
overwhelmingly,” he said.

“Blank” [unaffiliated] voters have never been allowed to vote in a primary,”
said Mr. MacKay. “And everybody registered in the Green Party, the Right to
Life Party, and the Liberal Party is now a blank voter because none of those
parties reached 50,000 votes in the last election.”

In New York, a minor party must win at least 50,000 votes for its candidate
for governor every four years in order to maintain its line on the ballot.

The change would pertain only to elections for statewide office: governor,
lieutenant governor, comptroller, attorney general and U.S. senator. The
first test case would be the 2004 senate race.

“This is not a registration drive,” Mr. MacKay said. “Voters can stay
blank, but they’re invited into the Independence primary. It empowers
people. Independence Party members are responsive to the wishes of the
voters.”

Mr. MacKay said Democrats and Republicans have the right to make rules for
themselves on whether to allow non-registered voters into their primaries.
But, Lee Daghlian at the New York State Board of Elections said he believed
the law would have to be changed before any of the parties could allow blank
voters to vote in primary elections.

“The election law say that you have to be enrolled in a party to vote in the
primary,” said Mr. Daghlian. “We have a closed primary. Unless the law is
changed either by the legislature or by court action, which is unlikely,
they wouldn’t be able to do that.”

Legislative action is considered unlikely because Democrats control the
state Assembly and Republicans control the state Senate, and neither party
has shown any interest in opening up its primaries to non-affiliated voters.

“I don’t believe the state rule has to change.” Mr. MacKay said. “But we
may have to file a lawsuit. We’ll probably vote on that on February 1 as
well.”

In a 1986 decision, Tashjian vs. Republican Party of Connecticut, the U.S.
Supreme Court ruled that a state party organization had the right to let
independent voters participate in its primary and that the section of the
state constitution banning this was a violation of the First Amendment right
of free association.

The 2002 elections saw more New Yorkers voting on the Independence line than
in any previous year, with 632,574 votes for gubernatorial candidate Thomas
Golisano. In addition, the Independence party drew 217,055 votes for
Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and 169,397 for Jon Faso, candidate for State
Comptroller.

Last year’s primary contest between George Pataki and Thomas Golisano for
the Independence Party line in the governor’s race cost $35 million, making
it the most expensive third party primary in history. “The highest prior to
that was maybe $2 million,” Mr. MacKay said. Mr. Golisano won by 491 votes.