All Things Maui
boo's Online Journal 
Dec. 13, 2007 by boo
Hawaii Democrats Don't Want Your Vote
The Honolulu Advertiser is reporting that the Hawaii Democratic Party wants to limit primary elections voting on the Democratic ticket to card carrying Democratic party members only (see the article here). The article states about 20,000 of the State's more than 662,000 registered voters belong to the Democratic party, which is roughly 3% of all registered voters. The Democratic party has been the dominant party in Hawaii politics since the 1950's. It is disconcerting that such a minority of registered voters could potentially decide the candidate(s) of the dominant political party for a general election.
A large number of Hawaii's registered voters appear to have not officially aligned themselves with a particular political party. For many, it is because they do not feel an obligation to any specific party. These individuals do not necessarily vote along party lines, rather they vote for whomever they think will do the best job for the office, regardless of party affiliation. They do not want to be "boxed in" to a particular political party because they may not agree with part of, or all of the party's platform, or the platforms of the individuals running for office in a given year. These voters may alternate which party's ballot they vote on in primary elections from year to year, based on who is running and how hotly contested a particular primary is. If successful, Hawaii's Democratic party will deny these registered voters a vote for the Democratic candidate of their choice. The Democratic party which calls themselves "the people's party" will purposely exclude "the people" from voting for the candidate of their own choosing.
The election process is supposed to promote anonymity, allowing voters the freedom to select their leaders without anyone knowing who they voted for. If Hawaii's Democratic party is successful, voters will essentially be declaring who they do, and do not, vote for because they will be forced to officially register with a specific political party in order to vote for their candidate of choice.
What do you think?
A large number of Hawaii's registered voters appear to have not officially aligned themselves with a particular political party. For many, it is because they do not feel an obligation to any specific party. These individuals do not necessarily vote along party lines, rather they vote for whomever they think will do the best job for the office, regardless of party affiliation. They do not want to be "boxed in" to a particular political party because they may not agree with part of, or all of the party's platform, or the platforms of the individuals running for office in a given year. These voters may alternate which party's ballot they vote on in primary elections from year to year, based on who is running and how hotly contested a particular primary is. If successful, Hawaii's Democratic party will deny these registered voters a vote for the Democratic candidate of their choice. The Democratic party which calls themselves "the people's party" will purposely exclude "the people" from voting for the candidate of their own choosing.
The election process is supposed to promote anonymity, allowing voters the freedom to select their leaders without anyone knowing who they voted for. If Hawaii's Democratic party is successful, voters will essentially be declaring who they do, and do not, vote for because they will be forced to officially register with a specific political party in order to vote for their candidate of choice.
What do you think?