Midlands Voices: Ensure voice for independent voters

The writer, of Callaway, Neb., is a rancher and restaurateur who has been considering an independent bid for the U.S. Senate.

It is February 2012, and the presidential election campaign is in full swing. And once again, a large segment of independent voters throughout the country is forced to watch from the sidelines, largely shut off from participation in the democratic process during the primary season.

Did you know that 37 percent of voters in the United States are registered as independents? In Nebraska, almost 20 percent of voters are registered nonpartisan or independent.

All you have to do is turn on the news to know why average people are frustrated with politics, with our two-party system. It seems that no one in Washington wants to compromise and, consequently, there are big problems that remain unresolved. Why?

One reason is that Republican and Democratic candidates win their respective primaries by appealing to the so-called base at the right and left of the political spectrum — without having to appeal to the independents, who are largely left out of this critical first step in the election process. This partisan selection process tends to lock candidates into rigid ideological positions, undermining their ability to compromise once elected.

So, while it makes sense that Americans are opting out and registering as independents, it certainly does not make sense that these independent voters are not allowed to participate fully in our democracy.

How has this happened? Because over the years the two parties have created rules, backed up by state laws, that control elections and give special preference to Republican and Democratic voters in the primary elections.

In Nebraska primary elections, independent voters are barred from voting in many political contests, effectively placing them in the political penalty box. Independent candidates are prevented by election law from entering into primary races.

If you are an independent who wishes to run for office, state election law requires you to gather thousands of signatures in order to go onto the ballot — whereas members of the two ordained parties simply have to file the necessary papers with the Secretary of State's Office.

And last year, the Nebraska Legislature made it even harder and passed a law that if you changed your party affiliation after Jan. 1, you are barred from running for office.

The party strategy to limit political competition is clear, and it is hurting our state and country.

It is time to change this nonsense. The current process keeps our country stuck in a rut between two warring political parties that have become self-serving, special-interest groups, unwilling to work toward a consensus that is critical to the success of our country and our democracy.

Wouldn't it be easier and more equitable if we ran all elections like we run local elections? Anyone who wants to run has to submit his or her name by March 1, then after the primary the top two vote-getters would go on to the general election. If we adopted this system, then independents, Republicans and Democrats would all have an equal voice and vote in our local, state, federal elections.

There is no mention of the two-party system in the U.S. Constitution, as both existing parties emerged long after the founding of the country. There is no legal reason or rationale for the two major parties to own and control the election franchise at the expense of independent voters.

So if you are one of the many who believe that existing election laws unfairly discriminate against voters unwilling to drink the party Kool-Aid, please contact your state senator in support of the following ideas.

>> First, support Legislative Bill 1070, introduced by Sen. John Wightman, which would repeal the law requiring candidates to change their registrations prior to Jan. 1 of the election year in which they want to run.

>> Second, urge Nebraskans to support legislation that would open primaries in our state to all voters, regardless of registration.

>> Finally, the Legislature needs to pass legislation allowing nonpartisan candidates to run in our political primaries, with the top two candidates going on to the general election, as is the case with candidates running for our Legislature.

Now is the perfect time for change. The party system is broken, ineffectual and suffocating our democratic ideals. As a country we need a new direction, fresh perspectives and more competition in the political marketplace, not less.

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