Posted by Kellie Ryan on October 27, 2015 at 9:55 AM
This article was written by Don Walton for the Lincoln Journal Star.
Nebraska's nonpartisan Legislature continues to attract national attention at a time when partisan battles dominate -- and sometimes even shut down -- Congress and rule other state legislatures.
The Atlantic magazine points to the Legislature's decisions this year to enact three controversial bills that might be described as progressive legislation despite the vetoes of a conservative Republican governor in "one of the nation's most conservative states."
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Posted by Armida Lopez on October 22, 2015 at 10:52 AM
This OpEd was written by Open Primaries Outreach Coordinator Armida Lopez for Fox News Latino.
Latinos have been portrayed as single-issue voters and at times we’ve been guilty of reinforcing the stereotype that all we care about is immigration reform. As the daughter of two immigrants, I strongly support the need for immigration reform. I, like most Americans, also care deeply about education, the economy, health care, climate change and the conflict in the Middle East.
So why are Latinos sidelined from these policy debates by the media and our elected officials?
I have seen firsthand how both political parties have used our community as a political football. Now more than ever, the two parties are leveraging important issues for their own gain while neglecting any sort of sensible resolution.
I am a young Latina millennial woman in Phoenix, Arizona. My parents migrated to the U.S. from Mexico to work in agriculture over 30 years ago. Farm work is rigorous physical labor, with long hours and little pay. My father spent 20 years of his life in the fields. He also marched alongside one of the greatest community organizers in the history of the U.S., Cesar Chavez, to try and end injustice against farmworkers.
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Posted by Kellie Ryan on October 20, 2015 at 4:31 PM
Open Primaries President John Opdycke and Campaign Director Patrick McWhortor appeared on Arizona PBS to discuss how Nebraska's nonpartisan election system can be a model for reform in Arizona.
Posted by Kellie Ryan on October 19, 2015 at 12:37 PM
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17—Open Primaries President John Opdycke appeared on PBS's The Open Mind with Alexander Heffner to discuss the importance of building nonpartisan election systems.
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Posted by Kellie Ryan on October 18, 2015 at 6:10 PM
Open Primaries President John Opdycke appeared on South Carolina's U Need 2 Know radio show to discuss nonpartisan environment in Nebraska and about the importance of open primaries in ending political dysfunction.
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Posted by Kellie Ryan on October 14, 2015 at 3:58 PM
This article was written by By Shawn M. Griffiths for Independent Voter Network.
Nebraska arguably has the most unique political system in the U.S. Not only are state lawmakers elected using nonpartisan elections, but they serve in a nonpartisan, unicameral legislature.
Open Primaries released a new study, titled The Myth of the Red State: Policy Over Party in the Nebraska State Capitol, on the impact this political makeup has had on state politics and the possible remedy it offers for the hyper-partisan environment on Capitol Hill.
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Posted by Kellie Ryan on October 05, 2015 at 4:32 PM
This article was written by Don Walton for the Lincoln Journal Star.
Open Primaries, a national organization seeking fundamental election reform, has released a report extolling the Nebraska legislative model and titled "The Myth of the Red State: Policy over Party in the Nebraska State Capitol.""In Nebraska, debates on issues critical to the public prevail over partisan politics," says Jeremy Gruber, author of the report.
"The corrosive effects of partisan gamesmanship are diminished and productive legislating is thriving."
Gruber contrasts the independent record of Nebraska's state senators, including this year's override of three gubernatorial vetoes of legislation that he describes as "progressive reforms," with a congressional delegation that "consistently votes the party line."
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Posted by Kellie Ryan on October 02, 2015 at 2:31 PM
This article was written by Travis Fain for the Daily Press.
October 1, 2015—There's an interesting study out from a group called Open Primaries, which looked at Nebraska's unicameral legislature and non-partisan elections to find across-the-aisle cooperation without automatic rejection of ideas associated with the minority party.
"The legislature is generally free of the type of strong-arm partisan politics that characterize political activity in Congress and most state legislatures," the report states. "Although 71% of Nebraska representatives are registered members of the Republican Party, nonpartisan coalitions are commonplace and the legislature has engaged a wide range of 'progressive' issues, from abolishing the death penalty to immigration reform."
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Posted by Kellie Ryan on September 17, 2015 at 1:12 PM
Has Philadelphia ever elected a bona fide “outsider” as mayor? It’s a question I’ve pondered after the ho-hum Democratic mayoral primary this May, which featured a trio of party stalwarts as frontrunners who were about as exciting as the ghosts of Party past (Lynne Abraham), present (Anthony Williams), and future (Jim Kenney). As it turns out, I seemed to find one in Robert Eneas Lamberton, elected 75 years ago with credentials suggestive of a Bloomberg-ian type mayor: no prior legislative-branch experience; described in this beauty of a 1940 Time magazine feature as a “husky, unassuming and stubborn” bridge player who almost accidentally rose to be mayor.
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Posted by Jb opdycke on September 14, 2015 at 2:30 PM
This Op-Ed was written by Open Primaries President John Opdycke and published in Crain's New York Business.
September 13, 2015—California was for years a symbol of legislative paralysis, partisan brinkmanship and Soviet-style elections. Special-interest groups exerted outsize influence. From 2000 to 2009, only two Assembly and congressional incumbents lost; both were under criminal investigation. Sound familiar, New Yorkers?
But things have changed since 2010, when the state’s voters made primary elections nonpartisan, with the top two vote-getters facing off in the general election.
The New York political establishment has stymied such a reform here with dire warnings, but now we know the impact in California was swift and positive. Its elections are now the most competitive in the nation, and the legislature tackles difficult issues and passes budgets on time. Nonpartisan coalitions are commonplace.
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