Independents Not Allowed

Today Democrats and Republicans across Oklahoma are turning to the polls to pick the candidates for their respective parties. Democrats pick Democrats, Republicans pick Republicans, and everybody else is well aware that they are not welcome. Oklahoma suffers from the horrible combination of having a closed primary, as well as the most restrictive ballot access laws of the nation.

Members of the Green Party, the Libertarian Party, the Socialist Party, the Constitution Party, and of course the Pirate Party, are unable to show their party affiliation when running for any office in Oklahoma. There might be other third parties present in Oklahoma, but they all share the same fate. I am sure that there are also many true Independents in this great state, and they proudly run for office with the label “Independent” on the ballot to show that they have shed the restraints that come with a party affiliation. But many others are proud members of the third parties that seek to make a difference in Oklahoma. Our labels mark our ideals, our convictions, and our goals. Yet the Elephant and the Donkey show bipartisanship when it comes to keeping competition off the ballot.

In addition to keeping Independents off the ballot, Oklahoma has also made it very clear that we are not welcome during the primary season. This decision is a double edged sword, keeping democracy away from the voters, and taking away the “independent vote” that could decide the election for either party.

We frequently have races where only one party is running multiple candidates for one open position. Independent voters, and voters of the opposing “major” party have to sit on their hands while a minority of voters decide who will represent us when it comes running this state or this country. We have no input on this decision, standing by as “they” declare who they have picked for us. Why do the major parties think it would be so dangerous to let independents vote in their primaries, or to let members of the “other” party vote in their primary. Closed primaries only reinforce the mindset of partisanship by forcing a mindset of “If I can’t vote for a Democrat/Republican, then I will vote for nobody!” Is it so unlikely that a Republican/Democrat might say: “I like Candidate X from the other party, I will vote for him/her in their primary so that I can vote for him/her in November.” Are the major parties so paranoid of each other that they only see manipulation instead of bipartisanship if primary elections were opened up to everybody regardless of political affiliation? Keep the current “you can only vote for one party” regulation, but open up the option of picking a primary in which to vote.

By keeping independents out of the primaries, the major parties also rob themselves of the much desired Independent Vote. Instead of letting your base alone pick your candidate, and then trying to win the independent vote after the fact, why not let the Independents pick the candidate most likely to win the Independent vote? What good does it do if the Republican that the Republicans like the best wins the primary, only to loose to the leftover Democrat who appeals to more Independents? (This scenario applies to both parties) If the Independents vote in a primary, and make a difference in the outcome, then that support will follow the winner all the way to the November elections. If a candidate wins his parties nomination with the independent vote, then he will have the backing of those independents during the general elections.

Instead both the Republican Party of Oklahoma and the Democratic Party of Oklahoma have made it very clear that they do not care about the Independent voters of Oklahoma, except of course when our few percentage points make the difference between wining and loosing in November.