This commentary is by Russell Frank of Montpelier. Now retired, he worked for the state in the Agency of Human Services for 20 years.
Every day each of us make judgments where we lack sureness about someone or some thing, or there is not a clear answer. Such as whether to have lunch with someone, which refrigerator to purchase, which job candidate to hire or where to go on vacation. One of the most important judgments we make is for which political candidate we should vote.
The Legislature is taking another stab at making changes to the state primary system. I’m not sure it can be considered a well-thought-out system. I do not know the history or evolution of what we have. It has led us to where in the recent race for lieutenant governor the winner of the Democratic primary was a longtime member and leader of the Progressive Party, running against a longtime Democratic House member who won the Republican primary. It is definitely unique compared to other states where I have voted.
Technically, the National Conference of State Legislatures lists Vermont as having an open primary system. Voters do not declare a party preference when registering to vote. Primary election voters can choose which party’s ballot to vote. The challenge in the Vermont system is there is nothing to prevent a member of party A from running as a candidate in party B’s primary.
A recent report from by the American Political Science Association notes:
“By providing candidates with a label, parties can serve as a valuable cue and shortcut for voters. Much like people associate brands with a specific type of product, voters link parties to policy menus and develop positive or negative feelings towards them. In a country where voters cast ballots for myriad offices—not just state and federal executives and legislators but a panoply of local officials—party labels are not just a convenience that makes voting easier but a virtual necessity to sort out candidates on lengthy ballots. Besides providing valuable cues to voters, parties also help organize political ideas more coherently and ideologically in a way that most voters lack the time or interest to do.”
One of the fundamentals of our election system are political parties, where each party is unique and different from all the other political parties. It is clear that the APSA task force of political scientists believes that party labels help voters to avoid being confused when making judgements about candidates. When voters are faced with a confusion candidate, a candidate from one party who runs in another party’s primary, are there any winners?
Because Vermont lacks any laws that prevent candidates from one party running in another party’s primary, voters are relying on each individual candidate to stay in their lane. It is clear over the last 10 years more candidates are not staying in their lane. The actual number of candidates is low but persistent — while once the exclusive territory of candidates from one party now all boundaries have disappeared.
Our lack of a well-thought-out election system may be making it much more challenging for voters to make a judgment as to which candidate best aligns with their views.
It might be time to enact new laws that prevent a candidate from running in a party primary for which they are not a member. Or we could bin the existing system and move to a multi-party primary system, where Vermont would hold a single primary election where every candidate for an office, regardless of party, is listed on a single ballot and the top candidates move on to the general election.
The challenge for the Legislature is one of politics. Legislators, and political parties , requently have their own best interest at heart. Making changes to the existing primary election system has proven elusive. Often, in situations like this, where it is difficult to develop a legislative consensus, it is the thoughts of citizens shared with their legislators that can make the difference between improving the primary election system or no change.
Let’s improve the system and help every Vermonter get the best out of their vote.
