Only allowed to vote for one party's candidates?

[LFK]

My wife and I received out ballots in the mail a few days back. Apparently, in the state of Washington (how wide spread is this?) you can only vote for candidates within the party you choose to affiliate with.

My wife is a Democrat and I like to consider myself more of an independent with a Republican background. I personally know the incumbent Sheriff (Republican) and one of the incumbents running for reelection as a senator (Democrat). Our ballots say that we can vote for one party, or the other, but that any ballot that has a vote for members of both parties will be invalid. As an independent, there are no choices for either office, only a few judges. We are required to choose one party, or limit our selection to the candidates running independently. There is no option for integration, or selecting members of a party you do not choose to affiliate yourself with.

IMO, this type of pigeon holing voters is messed up. We should be able to vote for a person based on opinion, not based on political party orientation. I’m sick of this crap.

The whole system should be scrubed clean and fixed.

/rant

 

[ob]

Re: Only allowed to vote for one party's candidates?

I agree.I think.

 

[AK_Chappy]

Re: Only allowed to vote for one party's candidates?

LFK,
Is it an election or a primary?

In AK, they went that way for the primaries. In the election itself, you could vote for whoever.

In a way, I can understand it.

If you are of a certain party (either one) and know your guy will win the primary. You then vote for the biggest lackey (not sure that is the right word, but you get the drift) in the other party.

If it is in the elections, no way should it be that way.
You should be able to vote for the best person, regardless of party.

AK Chappy

 

[Boomyal]

Re: Only allowed to vote for one party's candidates?

My wife and I received out ballots in the mail a few days back. Apparently, in the state of Washington (how wide spread is this?) you can only vote for candidates within the party you choose to affiliate with.

My wife is a Democrat and I like to consider myself more of an independent with a Republican background. I personally know the incumbent Sheriff (Republican) and one of the incumbents running for reelection as a senator (Democrat). Our ballots say that we can vote for one party, or the other, but that any ballot that has a vote for members of both parties will be invalid. As an independent, there are no choices for either office, only a few judges. We are required to choose one party, or limit our selection to the candidates running independently. There is no option for integration, or selecting members of a party you do not choose to affiliate yourself with.

IMO, this type of pigeon holing voters is messed up. We should be able to vote for a person based on opinion, not based on political party orientation. I’m sick of this crap.

The wsystem should be scrubed clean and fixedhole .

/rant

Get a life LFK, quit whining. Primaries are soley for the purpose of determining a candidate to represent a particular party. You're not a member of that party? You don't get to vote for a candidate. Grow up!

As far as "The wsystem should be scrubed clean and fixedhole" . The only thing that needs to be scrubbed are the "I can't have it any way I want" whiners that obviously fell asleep in school or who were educated by teachers who were tenured by the NEA.

 

[LFK]

Re: Only allowed to vote for one party's candidates?

LFK,
Is it an election or a primary?

You raise a good question. To be honest, I think it was the primary elections. I understand the desire to keep punks from voting for someone they know will loose, in a backwards attempt to secure their party's candidate; I just don't agree that it's as big a threat as the major political parties would have us believe.

Take my situation as an example. I have friends running for both parties, while considering myself a member of neither. It puts me in both the position of choosing a party to affiliate with (which I do not really affiliate with) and choosing one selected candidate over another (even though the position they are running for is different).

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Only allowed to vote for one party's candidates?

I agree, though any voting in Clark Co. or Grays Harbor is meaningless anyway.....
I think that you should vote for Mike "The Confessor" Mc Gavick:}:}:}.....Jackpot!
The only thing that he won't confess to is how many people he screwed while at Safeco..d....JK

 

[Skinnywater]

Re: Only allowed to vote for one party's candidates?

Get a life LFK, quit whining. ......... Grow up!

Dang, I hope rodbolt isn't confusing your posting style with mine.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Only allowed to vote for one party's candidates?

dang, I was insulted, I think .

 

[12Footer]

Re: Only allowed to vote for one party's candidates?

Florida is a closed primary. I hate it.
If we end up with Katherine Haris, I'm never voting again.

 

[Gone]

Re: Only allowed to vote for one party's candidates?

In IN you declare at the primary election site which party's primary you want to vote in and they give you the proper ballot. This allows me a chance to vote in the other party's primary and screw up their choices.

Of course, at the regular election I am free to vote for any candidate I choose...or not!

CD

 

[llfish]

Re: Only allowed to vote for one party's candidates?

Tn. is the same as Wa. I think parties are scared you may cross over and vote for a better candidate.

 

[LFK]

Re: Only allowed to vote for one party's candidates?

I agree, though any voting in Clark Co. or Grays Harbor is meaningless anyway.....
I think that you should vote for Mike "The Confessor" Mc Gavick:}:}:}.....Jackpot!
The only thing that he won't confess to is how many people he screwed while at Safeco..d....JK

Exactly!

What was the deal with all of the "Nickname" candidates? There must have been three or four on my ballot. It was as if they were competing for silliest moniker.

I Selected the party I liked the least, and choose the candidate with the smallest chance of winning. Lucky for me, Washington State allows us to vote in the other party's primary election, as long as we check the right box first (Doesn't that seem to defeat the stated purpose of having to choose?).