Ya know what makes NO SENSE? Those who vote in every presidential election but NEVER vote in primaries/mid-terms/local elections. RIGHT?

It's so obvious and logical Walt. But I guess folks don't traffic in logical or obvious. SIGH. Thank you for your reply. I did not know that Independents couldn't vote in primaries! Thanks for the info and your reply! :)

In Oregon/Washington, it's up to the Republican/Democrats to decide if the independents can vote in their primaries.
Sometimes they allow it, but not usually.

Once, I looked into registering as a member of every political party ... but the state said that even if I were a member of every political party, I could only register with the state as a member of one for primary voting.  EG: Even if I held a membership in the Republican, Democrat, and Green Parties - I could only receive a primary ballot for ONE of those.  Seems that would be illegally denying my voting rights, but I don't have the funds to sue the state.

That seems VERY UNAMERICAN TO ME Walt. That GOP and DEMS get to decide if Independents can vote in their primaries! Seriously who thought that up and why? Who the he** do they think they are anyway? That INFURIATES ME! And here I thought (and obviously it was wrong) that both Oregon and Washington were way liberal with respect to being at the forefront of what's good and right and honorable and fair and not dragging behind. How come you stand for it? What is the logic behind it? Can you fight it and change it? How is that any different than any other dictator? There have to be TONS of Independents in those states and y'all are getting GYPPED big time. A class action lawsuit maybe or if someone wants to do some pro bono work? Geez I'd believe that in Montana or Mississippi but Oregon and Washington? Really? Thank you for your reply and Happy Friday! :)

As I said in your other thread ... political parties are basically clubs.
If you think of them like the Masons or Elks or Eagles or whatever.
Those clubs don't allow non-members to vote on officers.

However, they also don't require non-members to pay for those elections.
So political primaries should be the same.  Only people who are allowed to vote should pay for it.

I BIGLY ADMIRE INDEPENDENTS. If I could be one I would be one. If I were and I ADMIRED someone in either Party (DEM/GOP) why can't I give my thumbs up at the Primary level? Thank you for your reply Walt.

Thank you for your reply L. So you researched the candidates and decided the experienced one was your cuppa tea. Are you tracking how this choice of yours is doing? :)

My candidate lost, which I knew would be the outcome.  The Dem is very well-known in political circles.  

Oh. Condolences. So how has the one who won done so far? Too soon to tell? Thank you for your reply L and Happy Friday! :)

Too soon to tell.  She hasn't taken office yet.  Happy Friday. :)

Right! What was I thinking? Thank you for your reply L! :)

Perhaps you thought that it was a special election for the post due to the death of the former District Attorney and that it had taken place earlier than Tuesday past.

We just voted Tuesday, Rosie, so that's impossible. But most judicial candidates run unopposed in NYC, where the Republican party is virtually non-existent. Some local, esp. judicial, races feature the same candidates in the Democratic, Republican, Conservative, and Working Families ballot columns.

The Republican party is similarly virtually non-existent in California Stu. Not all that long ago we had REPUBLICAN Governors! Things change. But I am bigly confused by your reply. Some candidates for various position can be found in Dem GOP Conservative and Working Family columns? What is a working family column? Thank you for your reply and Happy Friday to thee StuB! :)

Conservative and Working Families are New York state/local parties that often cross-endorse nominees of the Republican and Democratic parties, respectively. They do sometimes run their own candidates. Working Families replaced the old Liberal party on the left. The interesting thing about New York is that the Republican party here is not nearly as ideologically right-wing as in other places. This used to result in a Republican-Liberal phenomenon where GOPers like Senator Jacob Javits and many local candidates actually ran in the Republican and Liberal ballot columns, as opposed to the more traditional Democratic-Liberal and Republican-Conservative pairings.

Stu, I'm not in favor of the general public voting for judicial posts.  Most persons have no idea what is the record of the candidate and, therefore, is not qualified to make that decision.  I don't believe I have ever seen an advertisement for or a flyer distributed or mailed for anyone running for a judicial post.  Perhaps those judgeships should be determined by the Bar Associations.

And the turnout here Tuesday was less than 1%. Pathetic.

I think we had a little better turnout, but not by much.

OMG sweetie. My sincere condolences. Sheesh. I don't know what to say. I never figgered it would be this way. GET OUT AND VOTE! I don't care for whom. Well of course I'd like you to vote my way but seriously get off your a** and cast your vote. What are we gonna do? Why don't more people care enough to vote? Thank you for your reply. I think I'm gonna cry! :(

Thank you for your thoughtful helpful and informative reply m2c. I appreciate it bigly! :)

That's what I heard too Stu. Folks do whatever they gotta do to "win". Thank you for your reply! :)