Primary arguments

by Patrick Gannon, The Insider, published in Greenville Daily Reflector, October 1, 2015.

The General Assembly decided to hold both the presidential primary and the traditional statewide primary elections on March 15, 2016. A bill to do that sits on Gov. Pat McCrory’s desk as of this writing.

On the same ballots in March, unless something changes, voters will choose their preferences for the Democratic and Republican nominees for president of the United States, as well as U.S. Senate, governor, Council of State positions, the General Assembly, judgeships and county commissioners. North Carolina primaries are usually held in May.

The legislation to accomplish the joint primaries came after much debate among state lawmakers. The following are the best arguments for and against that legislation.

For

Republican sponsors argued that holding the regular primaries on the same day as the presidential contest would mean many more voters choosing who will represent them in state and local governments. That is a good thing for democracy.

“We see a great opportunity for a larger number of people to be able to help elect the candidate of their choice in the primary when you have a larger turnout,” said Sen. Bob Rucho, a Matthews Republican.

The turnout will be much greater with all of those contests on the same ballot. If the presidential and other primaries were held on different dates, many fewer voters would show up for the non-presidential primary.

In 2014, not a presidential primary year, about 1 million voters cast ballots in the May primary. Two years earlier, with presidential candidates on the ballot, nearly 2.2 million N.C. voters cast votes in the primary.

Also, supporters argued that moving up the presidential primary likely would give North Carolina voters the chance to have a true say in which candidates win the nominations. That’s true, too.

Against

Opponents of holding both primaries in March argued that potential challengers to incumbents – in the General Assembly and elsewhere – would have less time to decide whether to run for office and raise money to build credible campaigns. The change means the candidate filing period moves up a couple of months to December.

“This is an incumbent protection law that I don’t think serves well our democracy,” said Sen. Josh Stein, a Raleigh Democrat.

Sen. Jeff Jackson, a Charlotte Democrat, said moving up the primary would make it less likely that any General Assembly incumbents would lose re-election bids. Because most General Assembly districts – because of gerrymandering – lean heavily toward Democratic or Republican candidates, primaries are often the only way voters can replace their representatives and senators.

“By taking two months away from primary challengers, we are narrowing the last major avenue for democratic governance that the General Assembly has left for the voters. ...I deserve a better chance to lose,” Jackson told his colleagues on the Senate floor. “And so do you.”

So holding the presidential and traditional primaries together isn’t all good. And it isn’t all bad either.

Patrick Gannon writes about North Carolina government and politics for the Capitol Press Association.

http://www.reflector.com/opinion/other-voices/gannon-primary-arguments-2999807