The California primaries are coming up fast. On March 5, Super Tuesday, Californians will go to the polls, but while much of the nation's attention will be on the presidential contest, voters will participate in nonpartisan primaries for all non-presidential races in the state.

As the US kicks off the 2024 presidential election cycle, more than 23.5 million registered independent voters find themselves sidelined by closed presidential primaries in 22 states, a recent report from the Unite America Institute reveals.

Photo Credit: Matt Johnson / Flickr

 

The Libertarian Party of California (:PCA) has set the stage for a presidential forum and debate unlike anything voters are accustomed to seeing at its annual convention. Not only has the party opened its doors to independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr, but it also announced that Green Party candidate Dr. Jill Stein will be present during a presidential candidate panel. 

"We are excited to host Dr. Stein and Mr. Kennedy," said LPCA Chair Adam F. Malagon.

Over 70,000 voters cast a ballot in the Republican primary -- and none of those votes are considered "legitimate" by the GOP. 

1. You See the Legitimacy of Opposing Views

Voters have become accustomed to the simple red-versus-blue, liberal-versus-conservative goal posts that have been set up by the drivers of American politics. Hyper-polarization has reached such extremes that no matter the position, the "other side" is always wrong, evil, and brainwashed.

Over the weekend, Senate negotiators released final language of a bill that would address the growing crisis at America’s southern border while also providing aid to Ukraine and Israel. This would be great news, if House Speaker Mike Johnson hadn’t announced the bill was dead on arrival before the bill had been written.

As critical thinking skills become increasingly important in the era of artificial intelligence, our two-party political system is imperiling both democracy and the American workforce by automating voter choice, decreasing the value of human input and serving as a Chat GPT for everyday political conversations.

Photo Credit: Colin Lloyd on Unsplash

 

California’s ‘top-two’ nonpartisan primary creates election dynamics that are much different than you see in most states because, instead of candidates vying for the hearts and minds of their party-base -- all voters, including independent voters, can cast their vote for any candidate they choose.

That means, this March, some Democratic candidates will need votes from independent and Republican voters to advance to the general election in November.

Candidates talking to all voters may generally be a good thing.

Independent voters are sending a message to the Republican and Democratic Parties: We are done playing your games.