According to the unofficial results of NorCo's election in a Presidential primary, turnout was an anemic 22%. Only one out of five registered voters bothered to cast a ballot. And I'm not picking on NorCo. Statewide, it was only 25%. Now I understand that part of the reason for this is that independents are unable to participate in closed primaries. But there's another, even deeper, problem. Voters have little choice. Most candidates are incumbents who run unopposed. Even in the Presidential race, Republicans and Democrats had no realistic alternative to Trump or Biden. And this is democracy?
You can say that people should vote as a matter of civic responsibility. But for what? The same ol' same ol'? There are few contested races. Yes, there were a few challengers to incumbents Zach Mako and Bob Freeman in Lehigh and Northampton, as there should be. But Mako's opponent looks like he's in fourth grade and Freeman's nemesis destroyed herself in so many ways that her career is hopefully over. Because there's no real choice, we are drifting from democracy to oligarchy.
I've argued before that we need open primaries. But we also need term limits. As nice a guy as Bob Freeman is, it's ridiculous that he has been a State Rep for 40 years.
Ancient Rome, when it was still a republic, was very leery of seeing the same people in office over and over. Its highest office, Consul, could only be held for one year, and after that, a person had to wait five years before running again. Things began to change when populists like Gaius Marius bent the rules and got himself elected seven times. He ended up killing a number of his political enemies and started the devolution to one-man rule. I believe we are headed in that direction here.
27 comments:
I think there are a couple of things at play here:
1). Part of the reason for the low turnout was the fact that the election was moved up. Many voters weren’t aware that Election Day was in April this year instead of May.
2). Supposedly, the election was moved to give us more of a voice in the Presidential race. Not surprisingly, that didn’t happen.
What it did do was give challengers less time after the holidays to circulate petitions, fundraise, debate their incumbent opponents, and generally get their message out. This surely dissuaded some from even attempting to challenge an incumbent.
It’s almost as if our legislators told us that moving the date of the election would benefit US, when actually it benefitted THEM. Surely they’d NEVER do such a thing, right?
Are you part of the problem? Your reporting on the county is generally negative on county council but flowery with the executive branch. This is replicated at all levels. Despite the mistruths and omissions of information you and the media continue to encourage strong man rule over legislative bodies.
Ther were at least two Democrats wanting to run in th executive primary next year., Many, many employees desired the runs but threats from Party people and donors have effectively shut it down.
One man rule is not the norm. We have an executive that wants to rule for many years. Thank God council put some limits on terms.
Open primaries, yes. Term limits, no. Stop making excuses for those who are too lazy to vote. If you don’t like the office holder, get off your ass and vote him/her out.
Open primaries and term limits would help. Convincing people to vote for the person instead of the party would go a long way.
Trump caused an explosion in participation. But you can't get through a post - even a low turnout post - without referencing him. You're a hopeless Trumpaholic You need to turn off NPR and get to a meeting. Lol. Hopelessly addicted.
40 years in the citizens' legislature? That's outrageous. I used to think he was a lovable loafer. But 40 years? He's a rotten POS who has no decency. A good guy doesn't do that. The legislature is for citizens. Bob Freeman hasn't been a citizen since he struggled through his undergraduate degree - over 40 years ago. He's worse than Trump and Sultana combined.
The nation is in danger of succumbing to apathy and disillusionment with our elections. It is no secret that the power brokers use every tactic to insure their candidates are the only choices.
Why was RFK jr not on the primary ballot this year?
I suspect that after the big turnout in 2020, we may very well see a much smaller turnout in 2024.
It also seems when it come to new bills and spending, they always seem to happen even when there is little citizen support.
We see the same pattern all around the world, Do citizens really matter, Or are they just window dressing on big government decisions.
Most representatives and senators represent the government to the people. Very few represent the citizens to the government.
I think having a system where rich people, corporations, and special interest groups can dump tons of money into any race to ensure they get the candidate they want in office is more problematic than the lack of term limits.
You hit the nail on the head here Bernie - the 2024 PA Primary Election was uncompelling on multiple levels. I think there is a major disinterest in actual government in most citizens, yet politics is all anyone seems to talk about (most times not very intelligently either).
Both Trump and Biden, despite being the presumptive nominee for their party respectively had 15.32% and 11.4% of voters choose or write in someone else. November is truly going to be a choice of bad and worse, yet the citizens of this country are fine with it.
Term limits (12 HoR/18 Senate) and age limits (70) should be in place for federal level.
TAIBA SULTANA, SAY HER NAME BERNIE. TAIBA SULTANA, SAY HER NAME! Down with the Patriarchy, out with the Caucasian colonizing class, dismantle the gerontocracy, and most importantly FREE PALESTINE!
Unfortunately we crossed the bridge toward one-man rule when we allowed Congress to abdicate its responsibility to the Executive Branch via executive orders. And before the politics starts, it doesn't matter who started it, each party is guilty.
Why would RFK Jr be on the ballot? He is running as an Independent.
"Are you part of the problem? Your reporting on the county is generally negative on county council but flowery with the executive branch."
My reporting on the county is as truthful as I can be. In case you haven't noticed, I was highly critical of McClure's attempt to stack county council with a fourth rubber stamp and coined that phrase with respect to Kraft, Keegan and Warren. But I am also highly critical of Lori Vargo Heffner's diva-like tendencies and the blatant obstructionist I see from her and her GOP allies.
I also point out what McClure and Council do right. McClure has taken many steps in his tenure that have demonstrably saved lives. That is simple reality. Council did the right thing by doing an operational assessment of Gracedale and ordering a pay study. What really bothers you is that I give McClure credit when credit is due.
Too bad.
I do agree that County Council is and should be the most powerful branch, but just barely. I have pointed out often that legislatures on a national, state and local level have abdicated their authority. You've read that here and at few other places.
"TAIBA SULTANA, SAY HER NAME BERNIE. TAIBA SULTANA, SAY HER NAME! "
I said her name quite a bit and have a feeling I will continue doing so until she is out of office. A half decent Democrat with a real vision would make for an interesting race, but Sultana turned it into a joke. Having said that, voters should always have a choice.
I am not for open primaries but if the counties allow more than two parties on the ballot in the primary, then maybe that will work. Let the Greens, Libertarians, et al, on the ballot in the spring and let every registered voter vote for whom they want. I am sure there are flaws in my logic but I can't see them, yet.
Another nut job! When will they leave this country
TERM LIMITS!! WILL NEVER HAPPEN. Fox and the henhouse. All getting fat on the taxpayer pensions and neverending bennies. I can't stand it anymore. But it will never change. The BIG GUY over FIFTY years in office. Can you imagine? Same with all the other dead wood in both parties. Stop the bennies and the free loaders will leave.
"TAIBA SULTANA, SAY HER NAME BERNIE. TAIBA SULTANA, SAY HER NAME! Down with the Patriarchy, out with the Caucasian colonizing class, dismantle the gerontocracy, and most importantly FREE PALESTINE!"
I can never tell if these come out of Sultana's camp-which would only underscore how monumentally stooooopid they are- or if they come from her detractors trying to make her look bad. Not that she needs any help...
The election was not moved up this year. It’s been in April for presidential years for many many years.
Several people commenting on this issue have no idea how primary elections are held and what governs them. First of all they vary by state and are governed by state law. Parties and individuals can qualify to be placed on the ballot by following the law. Open and closed primaries vary by state. PA is a closed primary because primaries are party nominating elections. If you don’t belong or registered to a political party why should you have a say in their nominees?
To 1:07AM
It didn't stop McKenzie.... I had someone at my door every Saturday for 4 weekends with flyers and mailers left and right.
Trump's polarizing races generated a massive increase in voter turnout. I believe you wrote that he made voting great again. A greater danger to democracy is waging lawfare against a major party candidate for the purposes of eliminating a voter option. That's banana republic shit - where they often enjoy nearly 100% turnout! Whoopee. Our new country is really cool. Meanwhile - death to Jews and vote Democrat!! Happy Days Are Here Again!
I think the number of people choosing to now register as Independent is growing. There is strong disgust for both major parties, particularly in CONgress. It seems our CONgress wants to act as one joint party of people who seem to think they are immune from all the long term damage they are doing to our nation.
Voters have a duty to be informed and to vote.
You had me at "joint party." Smoke 'em if ya got 'em!
@1:18 ". A greater danger to democracy is waging lawfare against a major party candidate for the purposes of eliminating a voter option. That's banana republic shit"
It bears repeating that a major party should not nominate a candidate that has multiple skeletons in his/her closet that carry enough weight and circumstance that places them in legal jeopardy. American political history is littered with candidates that failed to clear that relatively simple bar. Don't blame Democrats for doing something that the GOP would also be doing if positions were reversed. The GOP has had plenty of time to pop this zit and cleared the deck for DeSantis or Haley or any number of well qualified and likely winning candidates.
2:10 PM - Our political parties are PRIVATE corporations. They can put-up any person for nomination. After our long primaries and caucuses, citizens decide to formally elect just one standard bearer, no matter how disgusting you or anyone else find that individual. In our General Election, YOU get to prevent that individual from holding the office, assuming the total number of individual votes cast and the Electoral Votes earned bythose votes comes up short (less than 270) for the individual you voted against. Then, the candidate you don’t want, will not win.
Of course, the above explanation only applies if the nationwide voting process is on the up-and-up, accurate and true.
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