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Closed Primary Caused Confusion

March 16th, 2016 by Mike Vasilinda

More than 3 million registered Florida voters were unable to vote in yesterday’s election because they were n’t registered  as a democrat or Republican As Mike Vasilinda tells us, their inability to vote led to confusion for many Florida voters.

Florida is one of about 20 states that has what is called a closed primary. It prevents minor and no party voters from casting a ballot in Primary elections and it led to some confusion in Tuesday’s Primary.

“you all have a good afternoon” said the poll worker to voters as they left yesterday.

Donald Trump tweeted mid day that he was being told his name wasn’t on some Florida ballots. The Secretary of Stae Ken Detzner state investigated.

“We looked into it and that was incorrect” says Detzner.

Then the Secretary of State took the unusual step of issuing a news release to explain the law.

“They may have been NPA’s, or No party affiliations and they may have expected they could vote. But the fact is, Florida law does not permit them to vote” says Detzner.

Ironically the law kept Leon County elections supervisor Ion Sancho from voting in the very primary election he ran on Tuesday. That’s because voters here require his post to be non partisan.

Sancho says the ban on open primaries basically amounts to taxation without representation.

“Our elections are paid for by local property taxes. Three point two million of the more than twelve million registered voters were not able to cast a ballot, ,even though they pay property taxes” Sancho told us.

Florida law does allow for an open primary when the only candidates running are from the same party, but a write in provision has made that virtually meaningless.

Two bills that would have opened primary elections to all voters died in the legislature this year. Neither got so much as a hearing.

Most political scientists believe that open primaries lead to more middle of the road candidates because candidates to not have to appeal solely to the liberal or conservative extremes in their party.

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