In a victory for the Libertarian Party, the Montana Supreme Court ruled on March 25 that legislative referendum LR 127, which would have established top-two primary elections in the state, will not be placed on the general election ballot this November.
Top-two measures allow only the top two vote-getters in primary elections to be on the general election ballot. This severely reduces the chance of a third party candidate surviving the primary election.
“Republicans had placed LR 127 on the ballot in an effort to eliminate Libertarians from the general election,” said Mike Fellows, chair of the Montana Libertarian Party. “Montana voters want their views to be heard, and LR 127 would limit those views.”
The Billings Gazette called the Libertarian Party “formidable” and notes that it “has begun to pull voters away from the GOP base.”
If Republicans deliberately made LR 127’s title confusing to placate opposition, their efforts backfired.
The court ruled the title was too long and complicated, noting “The title of LR-127 lists approximately 100 separate statutes that would be amended and eleven that would be repealed … It would take most persons well versed in the law a substantial amount of time and study to understand the details and implications of these changes.”
“LR 127 was a confusing bill which many Republicans, who voted for it, couldn’t explain,” Fellows said. “Republicans took a clue from Nancy Pelosi in passing a bill that they needed to pass to understand.”
Top-two favors the most dominant party in a state. In numerous California top-two primary elections, two Democrats advanced to the general election with no Republican.
In Montana, Republicans control the legislature.
Attempts to enact top-two have met with mixed results. Measures have failed in Arizona, Oregon and twice in Montana but remain in effect in California, Washington and Louisiana.
“At some point the Democrats and Republicans will wake up to the fact that they are not only losing these top-two battles and creating ill will with voters, but also hurting themselves,” said Carla Howell, Political Director for the national Libertarian Party. “They are knocking themselves out of general elections and killing opportunities to build a farm team of candidates for higher office.”
Top-two is causing voter turnout to drop to ever-lower levels. Some of the original proponents of top-two now oppose it.
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There’s no hope for “elect oral watch.” I would say he/she/it is a broken watch, but those are at right twice a day, unlike “elect oral watch.”
“LOL. Are you retarded or something?”
Using slurs against mentally challenged people? Tells me exactly what kind of person you are. Shame on you.
“It’s pretty simple math. The runoff system insures the winner receives a majority of the votes and no one wins with a mere plurality. The only way to ensure someone gets a majority is to have a final round with only two candidates.
50% = 1/2 .
That “2? in the denominator explains why there are two candidates in a runoff election.
Hope this helps.”
This isn’t a runoff system. Louisiana has a runoff system. The California & Washington systems unfairly discriminate against minor party and independent candidates.
“PS. Let me know if you’re confused about the Super Bowl only having two teams.”
If you don’t understand the difference between a game and an election, there is no hope for you.
Some LP candidates may fall for this same hype but actual studies show over and over that we draw about equally from both Rs and Ds and give many people who would otherwise just not vote a reason to do so.
“Bob, speaking of Montana, have you been to Rosebud lately? I’m not sure if the winner in the fight won with a majority or a mere plurality, but the final round only had one candidate.”
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That’s one river over. Unless you’re actually talking about the Rosebud battle that was eight days before Little Big Horn.
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Anyway, the Sioux-Cheyenne had an approx 1,500-1,800 to 600+ advantage overall (which was more or less even for that kind of campaigning), but an approx. 1,500 to 210 majority where and when it counted (even if they didn’t realize they were winning until it was over.
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B. Tiernan
Bob, speaking of Montana, have you been to Rosebud lately? I’m not sure if the winner in the fight won with a majority or a mere plurality, but the final round only had one candidate.
@Ziggler 9:58 — “Why not top 3?” LOL. Are you retarded or something? It’s pretty simple math. The runoff system insures the winner receives a majority of the votes and no one wins with a mere plurality. The only way to ensure someone gets a majority is to have a final round with only two candidates.
50% = 1/2 .
That “2” in the denominator explains why there are two candidates in a runoff election.
Hope this helps.
PS. Let me know if you’re confused about the Super Bowl only having two teams.
George Phillies: “Get it straight:
Democrats and Republicans are stealing our votes by lying.”
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Yup. Their main selling point is that they can win. Or as a Nixon insider said in 1972 in response to a question regarding what Nixon was for, Nixon’s “for winning”.
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Bob Tiernan
David: “Bob the Billing Gazette comments were about the Republicans. Montana Republicans have been fighting among themselves for some time.”
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My statement is not 100 percent tied to this specific case involving Montana Republicans, and please note the “if”. At the same time, I have been noting for a number of years examples of where LP candidates in what appears to be most cases have been nothing but spoilers taking special delight in helping a Repub lose (such as Utah’s Mia Love) as if it’s the Repub Party that needs to be punished for failing to live up to its alleged limited government agenda. In Oregon, also, Burke sees the LPO as an organization to replace the GOP and nothing else. He’s never had a clue about how to appeal to people on the Democratic or even Green side of things, as could be seen in all of the comments he and his delegated talking point repeaters have said to that audience. It’s also seen in the people he’s recruited from the Repubs, many being pro-life activists who immediately tried to lobby for changing the LPO platform to oppose abortion, among other thi8ngs.
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Bob Tiernan
Could somebody fix my the typo in my comment by replacing “he’s” with “he” ?
In the end it’s all about POWER and Control, nothing else. Republicans want the power to control as well as the Democrats.
LOL.
God bless Arnold. He should run for the Libertarian Party presidential nomination. I heard that he was actually born in Hawaii, so he’s is a natural born citizen. Clint Eastwood could be his running mate. Imagine that ticket. Warren Redlich would be a great running mate also.
It is in effect exactly that since the Republicans and Democrats are so similar to be indistinguishable, so any real choice is gone by the actual election (you know, the one that can actually elect someone). What’d more in some races you end up with two Democrats or two Republicans, even further making it obvious that the choice is illusory.
Exactly. A very conscious effort. Else why would the Montana Republican establishment, big money California interests and turds like Scwarzenegger love it so much? They have admitted their real goals many times and it’s all about stifling dissent. Anything else is a bad attempt at window dressing.
Yeah that’s just total spin. Notice how it’s top TWO. As in “two party system”. Why not top 3? For that matter, why not top 1? Disenfranchise voters even more?
Top two is an effort to limit voter choice and eliminate all voices of dissent.
What total nonsense, EW. The Republicans were completely and rather openly behind the Top One nonsense.
What a shameful act by the Montana Supreme Court. They have perpetuated to power of the evil entities known as the RNC and the DNC. Every indpendent of goodwill should join together to support nonpartisan runoffs and crush the power of RNC, DNC, RNCC, and DNCC.
We earn just as many votes away from Democrats as from Republicants, but Republicants and MSM can’t acknowledge that.
Get it straight:
Democrats and Republicans are stealing our votes by lying. Republican liars claim they are for smaller government and the second amendment. Democratic liars claim they are for foreign peace and the fourth amendment. Democrats and Republicans both lie about a list too long to type.
Libertarians don’t take votes. We earn them.
Bob the Billing Gazette comments were about the Republicans. Montana Republicans have been fighting among themselves for some time. So it’s understandable for those GOP members to vote Libertarian. Plus the MT GOP was doing their best to kick out the Ron Paul Libertarians as well. Libertarians do take Democratic votes as well. The Top two was the Republicans attempt to rid the general election of Libertarians, if voters approved. Their first bill failed. If all 260,000 Montana Romney voters have voted for Republicans in 2012, then we probably wouldn’t be talking about a top two primary in Montana. It would help to if Republicans had better candidates.
“The Billings Gazette called the Libertarian Party ‘formidable’ and notes that it ‘has begun to pull voters away from the GOP base.’ ”
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The LP is worthless if it cannot pull similar numbers from the Democratic Party.
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Bob Tiernan
The Democratic party is aware of the problem in Washington and members of the party have even complained about it at meetings.