All Americans Should Have the Right to Vote in Presidential Primaries

I usually shy away from writing political blogs, because I’m a person who tries to unify people, and we all know, especially after our recent presidential election, that politics can be a potent dividing and separating force. But, I feel compelled to write this one. I just can’t wrap my head around the reality that way too many Americans were extremely unhappy with the presidential choices they were given in the first place. In wake of this election: I believe it’s high time we, New Yorkers, re-vamped the selection process.

Right now, New York State has a closed primary, which means that you could only vote in this year’s presidential primary, if you were affiliated with one of the two major political parties. In other words, if you were a registered Democrat, you got to vote in the Democrat primary, and if were a registered Republican, you were able to vote in the Republican primary. If you were like me, and 3.2 million other New Yorkers, who are not affiliated with any political party, then you were prohibited from partaking in the actual selection process. You just had to suck it up, and on November 8th, vote for a candidate that you'd never chosen in the first place. This is why so many of your fellow Americans felt as if the choice came down to voting for whichever candidate they believed was the lesser of two evils.

Realistically, I have only a handful of presidential elections left in me, and before I exit this earth, I’d like to be able to vote in the primaries, as an Independent, ensuring that from the get-go, I’d have a say in who gets to run for the highest office in this country.

A whopping 43% of all Americans and 27% of all New Yorkers vote independently, so if you’ve been scratching your head and asking, “Who the hell chose these people in the first place?” you now have the answer. A vast number of Americans did not choose either of these candidates. They were shoved in our face, and we had to like it or lump it, and take it or leave it.

Fortunately, the process for all voters, whether they’re registered or not, is a little more democratic in some other parts of the country. At least 16 states have completely open primaries where everyone, not just those with party affiliations, is permitted to vote in the presidential nominating contest. Ten states have semi-open primaries, where party-affiliated voters can only vote in their party’s primary, and independent voters are allowed to choose which nominating contest they’d like to participate in.

The main argument in favor of open primaries is that they’d give more Americans an opportunity to play a greater role in the entire presidential election process. The arguments against them are based on what is referred to as “party crashing,” and “crossover” voting, where the opposing party could conceivably rig and sabotage the outcome of the other party’s primary by voting for a bad candidate, ensuring a victory later on for their own, more qualified, candidate.

Although Assemblyman Fred Thiele introduced legislation to the New York State Legislature on March 24 requesting that this years primary be opened, the bill didn’t pass in time for this year's presidential primary election. As of now, the bill has not moved past the committee hearing stage. You can read about Thiele’s submitted legislation by clicking here.

Assemblyman Theile has said, “The laws are skewed against independents, whether it’s voting, or the entire electoral process,” he said. “You have to work extra hard if you’re an independent, and that’s one of the reasons, I think, that you’re seeing such depressed turnout in elections. Independents are not coming out to vote because they think they don’t have a stake in the process.”

If, in the next presidential election, you’d like to see a more democratic voting process, I’m asking you to help get this legislation, which would allow our primaries in New York to be open ones, passed. Please, let our Legislature know that you’re for open primaries by voting online for the passage of this bill. You may do so by clicking here.

Your effort today will help ensure that millions of New Yorkers will never again be prohibited from voting in a presidential primary.

I am Cindi Sansone-Braff, a relationship coach and author of two spiritual self-help, relationship books: Grant Me a Higher Love and my latest, Why Good People Can't Leave Bad Relationships. I also give spiritual lectures regularly and host a popular weekly relationship call-in show on BlogTalk Radio. You can check out my website: http://www.grantmeahigherlove.com