r/MontanaPolitics • u/MontanaBear2022 • 21d ago
Election 2026 We need a true open primary
Montana likes to advertise itself as having an open primary but we do NOT. You are still forced to vote a party line ticket, youre mailed 3 separate ballots. Put everyone on one ballot, let people vote for the CANDIDATE (not party) of their choice and save money by only printing and sending one ballot.
36
u/FreeZedrIedpiZzaPie 21d ago
Here's the thing to remember: primaries are not state elections, they are party elections. They are managed by county election offices, but they are not a requirement as part of montana law. So the parties can run them however they want, unless montana passes a law stating otherwise
3
u/calloussaucer 21d ago
Parties cannot run primaries however they want in Montana. The legislature creates the election laws, the Secretary of State and county election officials administer the election under those laws. Parties can decide who is a party candidate (Trump can’t move to Montana and just decide to run as a Democrat), but they can’t decide who is allowed to vote in the primary or how they are ran (directly, I’m sure they lobby for it). That’s what makes Montana count as an “open primary” rather than a caucus or part-ran convention. What I believe OP would like to see is a a “jungle” where everyone is on one ballot. Good in theory, but I wonder if that would result in the option for governor would be either republican A or republican B. In theory those options would be more moderate, but would people truly like only republican options when voting even if they are moderate republicans?
3
u/MontanaBear2022 21d ago
Then why do we have state only offices on this ballot? The psc commissioner is a state only election as are the judges etc and the state is the one that made the law to send all 3 ballots so they can change it to a true open primary
3
u/FreeZedrIedpiZzaPie 21d ago
These are great questions, best answered by your county clerk and recorder not some rando on reddit
11
u/ProfessorChaos406 21d ago
Hard disagree -- look at California's jungle primary where they're may not be a Democrat on the general election ballot at all, just by sheer numbers spitting the vote. In my area (Flathead) we'd end up never having Dems to vote for at all.
Open primary means you choose the party's ballot you will vote each time. I have voted on GOP ballots when I wanted to give the moderate Republican (when they exist at all) a boost. It's sometimes the only voice I end up having because there may be no one opposing for a given office, so the primary decides the election.
7
u/MontanaBear2022 21d ago
What if I like 2 different candidates from two different parties for two different offices? A moderate republican senator and a democratic congressman, the current way one is not gonna get my vote
9
u/ProfessorChaos406 21d ago
There are always trade offs in any election. I'm facing a chiice now between voting for a US House Demcandidate I like to go into the general, vs. the GOP ballot with a sheriff race between an unqualified out of state, likely right right winger, and our incumbent who is a decent, moderate, law enforcement professional.
1
u/gay_groundhog 21d ago
Usually when choosing a ballot I go with the one that has the most candidates I like and then I write in who isn't on the ballot. I thought this was normal and a simple solution?
1
u/ProfessorChaos406 21d ago
Sounds like a good approach to me...but what effect does a write in candidate have in a party primary? I don't see a blank line to write in any candidate on the primary ballots, and there's only one ballot on the general election
3
u/phdoofus 21d ago
Well we do suffer from the fact in the Flathead that Democrats will literally never run for an office so there's that.
1
u/feisty_squib 21d ago
Why not the right to vote on both party's primary?
1
u/ProfessorChaos406 21d ago
One person one vote principle.
1
u/feisty_squib 19d ago
I guess... But by having separate ballots it feels like there's half of an election that I have to opt out of. If we are guaranteeing that the people will elect one democrat AND one republican to be on the ballot of the final election, I would like to have a voice in both.
1
6
u/Dull_Ad5440 21d ago
You are pissed about this? How about Daines and Zinke hand picking their successors.
2
2
u/aztecraingod 21d ago
We need multi member districts and ranked choice voting
2
u/Normal-guy-mt 21d ago
Be careful what you wish for. Lots of pros and cons with ranked choice voting.
2
u/Normal-guy-mt 21d ago
Well, we have more choices than voters in most states.
Lots of gaming going on at the primary level in state level elections.
Example, I know popular incumbents that have primary challengers that no one in the party has ever heard of. They see this as a way to make the incumbent spend lots of money so the other parties candidate has more money come general election time.
I’ve never registered with either party. I tend to do a lot of research before choosing which primary ballot to vote.
1
u/UpAlongBelowNow Montana 21d ago
We need to bring back the top 4 open without the ranked choice ballot. It could have passed if it wasn't tied to another initiative.
1
1
1
u/Ok-Communication1149 21d ago
I just wish there was an independent ballot with all candidates. I boycott primaries because I don't want to vote for any party
•
u/AutoModerator 21d ago
As a reminder, please keep your discussion on topic towards Montana politics.
In general, please be respectful to others. Debate/discuss/argue the caliber of ideas, don't attack people. Personal insults, troll accusations, hate speech, any suggestion or support of harm, violence, or death, and other rule violations can result in a permanent ban.
If you see comments in violation of our rules, please report them accordingly.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.