SD Democrats, who need to change their approach, are wrong to oppose open primary measure on November's ballot
South Dakota Democratic Party bosses have shot themselves in the foot. The bullet has ricocheted into the gut of nearly 150,000 folks registered as either independents or “no party affiliation.”
The bullet has also continued to fester the wound, continuing to hurt thousands of their fellow Democrats. The party bosses have decided to work against the open primaries ballot initiative, Amendment H (The initiative’s logo, seen above, is from the initiative’s website). In doing so they are working against the interest and representation of fellow Democrats living in a state and districts with strong Republican numbers and few Democrats even running for office.
According to the Secretary of State’s Office, there are slightly over 308,000 registered Republicans and almost 144,000 Democrats. Another approximately 150,000 are legal voters but not affiliated with either party.
Open primaries levels the playing field. Everyone gets to vote. Every vote matters. In districts with majority Republican numbers, why would the Dems deny their members the opportunity to vote in an election selecting which Republican would be acceptable to them?
Is it party first and only? Looks that way. Several of our Founding Fathers, including George Washington, who did not run under a party label, warned against the control political parties and their bosses could have over our country. The Father of Our Country and other founders viewed it as a negative.
They were, and obviously to this day, are right. I believe Amendment H is a huge step in the right direction. It allows all voters to vote. It allows Democrats to vote in primaries where Republicans dominate in numbers. Amendment H will level the playing field, so all of us are equal.
The Democratic Party bosses have got this issue wrong. Voting against Amendment H will not help them. It will ultimately hurt their party members. Bad decision.
Rick Knobe is a former mayor of Sioux Falls and a longtime radio talk show host who is now retired but remains active and involved in his community and state. His columns appear regularly on The South Dakota Standard.
