Two items of note:

On August 27th, Alaskans will vote on whether to implement instant runoff
voting, for all statewide and federal races (including the president but
excluding the governor).

The campaign website is www.AlaskansForVotersRights.com

If anyone is interested in how the campaign is going or details of the
initiative, I'd be happy to answer them on or off list.

An Arizona judge also found the state's open primary law to be an
unconstitutional abridgement of political parties' association rights,
barring the participation of registered independents from voting in the
primary election. Here's a news clip (I can't find one online just yet).

State's open primary law struck down
Independents

By Howard Fischer
CAPITOL MEDIA SERVICES


PHOENIX - A federal judge in Tucson on Monday voided the state's open
primary law, excluding nearly one out of every five Arizonans who otherwise
could vote in the Sept. 10 primary.

A state elections official said the ruling could disrupt the Sept. 10
primary elections. Early voting for that election begins Thursday. About 20
percent of the voters in Pima County are registered as independents.

U.S. District Judge Raner Collins said the state's political parties have
the right to limit who chooses their candidates. He said the 1998
voter-approved law that allows independents to request the ballot of one
party is not the same as formally affiliating with a party.

State attorneys plan to seek an immediate stay of Collins' order at the 9th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, seeking to leave the open primary process in
place at least through this election.

State Elections Director Jessica Funkhouser said that without a stay, next
month's primaries could be thrown into disarray.

Funkhouser said she believes the 9th Circuit eventually will uphold the
Arizona law. She said that court already has given its blessing to a much
more open process in Washington.

But the U.S. Supreme Court two years ago voided an open primary law in
California. It was that decision that Collins said convinced him the
Arizona law is invalid.

The 1998 law specifies those who are not registered with a political party
can still vote in the primary. People identify when they vote which party's
ballot they want. Those registered with minor parties - those without
formal ballot recognition - also have the same right.

Backers of the plan said closed primaries result in general election
candidates who appeal to the polar extremes of their parties. Allowing
independents to cast their votes, they said, would result in more moderate
nominees.

They also noted that many legislative districts are dominated by one party,
making the primary the only real point at which voters can register a
choice. And independents, unable to vote in the primary, are effectively
disenfranchised.

"This court recognizes as laudable Arizona's efforts to improve voter
participation by including independent and other voters in Arizona's
primary elections," Collins wrote. "However, in this case, Arizona's system
has failed to achieve the critical balance between the state's interests in
regulating elections and its political parties' associational rights."

That decision pleased Peter Schmerl, chairman of the Arizona Libertarian
Party, which brought the challenge.

"We should be allowed to select for ourselves who votes in the primary, not
have the state select for us," he said.

Schmerl said there also are practical considerations: People won't register
with a party because there is no benefit. That, he said, makes it difficult
for small parties like his to maintain the registrations necessary to
qualify for a spot on the ballot.

Monday's ruling, unless overturned, also is likely to affect how candidates
wage their races.

Those who seek their party's nomination needed to appeal also to others
who, until Monday, were free to cast their ballots in next month's primary.


Those numbers could tilt the outcome of many elections, with more than
416,000 of the state's nearly 2.2 million registered voters not affiliated
with any recognized party.

That 19.2 percent figure statewide has been growing steadily: Four years
ago, only about 14 percent of those signed up to vote were independents

Here are the percentages of voters registered as independents.
Statewide 19.2%
Cochise 17.5%
Maricopa 19.1%
Pima 20.2%
Pinal 17.1%
Santa Cruz 15.7%
Yuma 13.6%
Source: secretary of state
######
Dan Johnson-Weinberger
National Field Director
Center for Voting and Democracy
www.fairvote.org
djw@fairvote.org
312.587.7060 (office)
312.933.4890 (mobile)
Electing a legislature?
     Use proportional voting in three-member districts so all voters have a
voice
Electing an executive like governor, mayor or president?
     Use instant runoff voting so the winner has a majority mandate and no
vote is wasted
"Those who are saying it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are
doing it." Chinese proverb