Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Proposal for an open, top-two primary in Florida secures spot on 2020 ballot

Florida primary voter

A voter in Florida's closed primary in August 2018. A measure on next November's ballot would create an open, top-two primary system for state elections.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Floridians look increasingly likely to vote next year on a proposal to dramatically alter the way primaries for state offices are conducted.

Officials this week decided the proposed amendment to the state Constitution had garnered enough petition signatures to earn a place on the November 2020 ballot. But the two major parties are still fighting the idea.

If the state embraces the citizen-led ballot measure, which is far from certain, it would grant the ardent wishes of many democracy reformers. They say participation in the process and faith in the system would improve if more people were able to participate more often — and if more candidates on the ballot had realistic chances of winning.

The proposal would do this by creating an open, top-two system for nominating candidates for elections to state offices, including governor and all members of the Legislature, in the nation's third most populous state.


Currently, Florida is one of 12 states that uses a closed primary, in which only registered Republican or Democratic voters may participate in the process of selecting the candidates from their party.

A top-two primary, on the other hand, opens up the nominating process to all registered voters — including independents and even people aligned with minor political parties. Also known as a "jungle primary," all voters are invited to select as many as two candidates for each position, and the top two vote-getters regardless of party affiliation advance to the general election.

Washington and California have adopted top-two primaries for both congressional and state-level races. Nebraska uses the nominating process only in state races, as the Florida measure proposes.

The signature drive was organized by All Voters Vote and largely bankrolled by Miami businessman Mike Fernandez, who told Politico in September that he funded the initiative because the major political parties had become too extreme and were ignoring the views of independent and third-party voters, who represent an estimated 28 percent of the state's voter pool, or 3.7 million people.

The petition submitted to the secretary of state's office this week garnered 769,537 signatures, surpassing the 766,200 threshold to go on the ballot.

It was also submitted in the middle of a court battle in which the state's Republican and Democratic parties are fighting to block the petition.

Last week, attorneys for both political parties told the state Supreme Court the measure was misleading voters and should be banned from the 2020 ballot because it violated the state's single-issue requirement for ballot proposals. The justices have yet to rule in the case.

Assuming the measure lands on the ballot, the amendment would need to secure 60 percent of the vote to go in effect — which wouldn't happen until 2024. A poll conducted in October found that only 38 percent of registered voters supported a top-two primary system, with 48 percent opposing it.

Read More

Stolen Land, Stolen Votes: Native Americans Defending the VRA Protects Us All – and We Should Support Them

Wilson Deschine sits at the "be my voice" voter registration stand at the Navajo Nation annual rodeo, in Window Rock.

Getty Images, David Howells

Stolen Land, Stolen Votes: Native Americans Defending the VRA Protects Us All – and We Should Support Them

On July 24, the Supreme Court temporarily blocked a Circuit Court order in a far-reaching case that could affect the voting rights of all Americans. Native American tribes and individuals filed the case as part of their centuries-old fight for rights in their own land.

The underlying subject of the case confronts racial gerrymandering against America’s first inhabitants, where North Dakota’s 2021 redistricting reduced Native Americans’ chances of electing up to three state representatives to just one. The specific issue that the Supreme Court may consider, if it accepts hearing the case, is whether individuals and associations can seek justice under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). That is because the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, contradicting other courts, said that individuals do not have standing to bring Section 2 cases.

Keep ReadingShow less
Person voting

New York City’s election has gotten a lot of attention over the last few weeks, and ranked choice voting is a big part of the reason why.

Hill Street Studios/Getty Images

New York City’s Ranked Choice Voting: Democracy That’s Accountable to Voters

New York City’s election has gotten a lot of attention over the last few weeks, and ranked choice voting is a big part of the reason why.

Heads turned when 33-year-old state legislator Zohran Mamdani knocked off Andrew Cuomo, a former governor from one of the Democratic Party’s most prominent families. The earliest polls for the mayoral primary this winter found Mamdani struggling to reach even 1 percent.

Keep ReadingShow less
Defend Democracy Against Bombardments on the Elections Front –A Three-Part Series
polling station poster on clear glass door

Defend Democracy Against Bombardments on the Elections Front –A Three-Part Series

In Part One, Pat Merloe explored the impact of the political environment, the need for constitutional defense against power-grabbing, and the malign effects of proof of citizenship on voting.

In the second part of the three-part series, Merloe explores the harmful effects of Executive Orders, the reversal of the Justice Department on voting rights, and the effects of political retribution.

Keep ReadingShow less
Defend Democracy Against Bombardments on the Elections Front –A Three-Part Series
Voted printed papers on white surface

Defend Democracy Against Bombardments on the Elections Front –A Three-Part Series

In Part 1, Pat Merloe examines the impact of the political environment, the necessity of constitutional defense against power-grabbing, and the detrimental effects of proof of citizenship on voting.

Part One: Bellicose Environment, Constitutional Infringements, and Disenfranchisement by Proof of Citizenship

The intense MAGA barrage against genuine elections, leading up to 2024’s voting, paused briefly after Election Day - not because there was diminished MAGA hostility towards typically trustworthy processes and results, but mainly because Donald Trump won. Much valuable work took place to protect last year’s polls, and much more will be needed as we head toward 2026, 2028, and beyond.

Keep ReadingShow less