In Wyoming residents have a long tradition of voting for the best candidate for public office, no matter what political party their favored candidate declares.
For decades people have chosen to register as Republican or Democrat at the polls based on their choices during the primary election. Many moderate people have registered as Republicans because the state’s red tendency means there are often fewer choices on the Democratic ballot. The system works.
This summer the long-established practice caught the attention of political action committees, candidates and pundits. Some urged switching party registration to help a more moderate candidate withstand a crowded Republican primary. Others declared the practice unfair and misguided.
After the Aug. 21 primary saw record turnout for a primary election, gubernatorial candidate Foster Friess called crossover voting Democratic “mischief” and blamed crossover voters for his defeat. The day after the primary he called for a change to election laws.
That’s a bad idea. Anything that makes it more difficult or complicated for Equality State voters to do their civic duty infringes upon our democracy.
The disease of partisan divisiveness that has infected Washington, D.C., should be battled, not encouraged. Why sow those seeds in Wyoming, an election day petri dish where the people have always worked to bring the best candidates forward to the final round? Voters aren’t trying to choose the most conservative Republican or the most liberal Democrat.
The informal Cowboy State ethos of “live and let live” is borne out in the state capital with the best legislators working to find compromise, not to band together and exclude those across the aisle.
Although the two-party system of politics has centuries of history behind it, the platforms have shifted and changed over the years. The ideology may or may not be relevant to Wyoming residents who prefer moderate candidates.
If changes to Wyoming’s election laws are mulled in the upcoming session of the Wyoming Legislature, they should be changes that remove partisan structure from races that don’t need it — county sheriffs come to mind — rather than adding hoops for voters to jump through.
(2) comments
In this editorial, August 29, 2018 News&Guide, the Editorial Board said that “Crossover voting is OK”. They tried to set the reason for it being OK by saying “In Wyoming residents have a long tradition of voting for the best candidate for public office, no matter what political party their favored candidate declares.” OK so far. They continue “For decades people have chosen to register as Republican or Democrat at the polls based on their choices during the primary election.” This needs a bit of explanation - that is to follow. Finally they say “Many moderate people have registered as Republicans because the state’s red tendency means there are often fewer choices on the Democratic ballot.” Now we are getting down to the problem. The final statement that “The system works.” however, is not correct. Here is why.
If electors are voting FOR the best candidate in their analysis, that is the way it should be. Switching party affiliation for the primary election to support their choice as the best candidate is legal and not a bad idea. If you find a best candidate but unfortunately he is not supported by, nor a member of the party you prefer, you can support him by shifting affiliation for the primary election. That is legal here in Wyoming and understandable. If the “choices on the Democratic (sic) ballot” are few and not to your liking, then perhaps the Democrat party should have candidates more to your liking. That is NOT what the intent of primary party/vote switching activity has become.
The Vote Switching of late has NOT been to seek out and support a good candidate, regardless of party affiliation. Instead, it is to try to encumber or “knock out” a strong candidate in the opposite party, the one you are not a member of, and keep them out of the general election. In the past this general activity has been known as “Primarying” a candidate - to campaign strongly for or against someone in the primary election where they are more vulnerable. It involved CAMPAIGNING and not vote switching.
The editorial goes on to say “The disease of partisan divisiveness that has infected Washington, D.C., should be battled, not encouraged.” In addition it says “The informal Cowboy State ethos of “live and let live” is borne out in the state capital with the best legislators working to find compromise, not to band together and exclude those across the aisle.”
The primary elections ARE partisan contests, they are not open across party lines. They are NOT divisive or encouraging divisiveness. The Republican electors vote for the Republican party candidates who choose to stand for election from that party, to be elected to move on as the Republican candidate in the general election. The Democrat electors do the same thing with their candidates. The other “third party” or unaffiliated electors and candidates do likewise. The primary election is CLOSED to out of party votes. That is as it should be, it is a contest among same party members of one party to chose the general election candidate. The general election IS OPEN. Anyone can vote for any candidate, regardless of party affiliation.
That is not what is happening lately. Even though Wyoming extends the very lenient option of registering early, and even on election day, this legal option is being abused. It is used not to support a candidate but instead in an attempt to block a candidate. That is the root description of divisiveness.
Quite a few folks have picked up on this growing problem. Examples from recent news headlines are: “Party jumpers wanted to influence governor and congressional races” N&G 8/22 - ““Switch for Wyoming” primary election group revealed” WyoFile 8/24 and “Wyoming party switchers say they sought to influence primary” WyomingTribuneEagle 8/29.
There is clear evidence that the recent Vote Switch-A-Roo is a concerted effort, NOT to support a good candidate, but instead to block a good candidate from the party they do NOT like. This attitude could be called many things: “Dirty Pool”, “not Kosher”, “gaming the system” and “Unethical” are some that come to mind. It should not take a change in voting law to correct this problem, but it probably will. That is unless voters can return to ethics and fair play in their actions. If you desire “better” candidates, get your party to support them at the primary level. Send them to the General election to the open election process. Do not jump up and down, and use the excuse that things are not fair - life is not fair, it never has been. Get involved and run for election in the party of your choice. Stick with it and encourage all voters to vote FOR something, not AGAINST something.
Bob Culver, Jackson Hole Tea Party
A change in voting law couldn't stop this practice, anyway, it could only mean that people would have to think farther ahead. We can't make it illegal to switch parties. I believe that the vast majority of the party switchers WERE voting for the person they thought was the best candidate, with one caveat. They were voting for the person that they thought was the best candidate that had a chance of winning. Wyoming is not going to be electing a democrat to the US House or Senate any time soon. The race for Governor is a little less sure, but still a long shot. So many of us make the choice to cast our vote in a away that allows it to matter. As a moderate, I was able to find candidates in the republican primary that I can happily support. I would argue that voting "against a candidate" has become the norm. I would bet that was the case for many on both sides of the last presidential election.
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