Crossing Over

Residents of Missouri who do not live under a rock are well aware that Tuesday is Election Day.  On Tuesday we not only vote in statewide primary elections, we also will decide five constitutional amendments that have been put on the ballot.  It is an important day, one of the rare occasions when we get to exercise our precious right to make our voice heard in the voting booth.

As important and exciting as that is, many of us will be happy to see an end to the endless stream of political ads on television and radio and social media.  In the St. Louis area we have been bombarded with negative ads on television, most notably in the race for St. Louis County Executive.  Incumbent Charlie Dooley is running against Steve Stenger in the Democrat primary.  Dooley went very negative very early, and Stenger responded with his own barrage of ads both defending himself and attacking Dooley’s record.  On the Republican side are Rick Stream and Tony Pousosa, each hoping to be the one to face off against the winner of the Democrat primary.

The other high profile race in the St. Louis area is for State Senator in District 2 between Bob Onder and Vicki Schneider and Chuck Gatschenberger.  These three have fought a hard fight as well for the Republican nomination.  Since there is no Democrat in the race, this primary will effectively decide the next State Senator in District 2.

Missouri has open primaries and does not register party affiliation, so voters will decide on Tuesday whether to fill out a Republican or Democrat ballot.  This is the same situation that Mississippi has, which resulted in a bit of a fiasco between Thad Cochran and Chris McDaniel.  You may recall that the Cochran campaign distributed materials to African American Democrat voters claiming that Chris McDaniel was racist and urging them to cross over and vote in the Republican primary for Cochran.  Cochran, the incumbent, ended up winning but the fallout has yet to die down.

There will be significant “crossover” voting on Tuesday in both of the races mentioned above.  In St. Louis County there is widespread opposition to Dooley, but as an African American he enjoys a loyal block of African American voters in St. Louis County that will support him unconditionally.  There have been lots of not-so-subtle suggestions that Republican voters in the county should cross over and vote for Stenger. 

There are a couple of reasons that Republican voters may want to pull a Democrat ballot and vote for Stenger.  First, as noted earlier Dooley’s term as County Executive has been very disappointing and there is a feeling it would be best to do whatever it takes to end his time in office.  Second, Stenger is a much more favorable candidate for Republicans, even labeling himself as a “conservative” in his campaign literature.  Finally, there is some thought that Stenger may be an easier candidate to beat that Dooley, a point that is debatable.

In the senate race in District 2 there have already been mailings to Democrats and union members urging them to cross over and vote in the Republican primary in opposition to Bob Onder, who is more conservative than Schneider or Gatschenberger and who appears to be leading among Republicans in the district.  Since there are no Democrats who filed for the position this will be the only opportunity for those on the left to have a say in who wins the seat.

Regular readers of this blog are aware that I have been taking the time this year to educate myself on Missouri and local politics.  I have attended Pachyderm meetings and Patriot groups and campaign events and meetings of the St. Charles County Republican Central Committee.  I have been to public forums and Freedom Talks and have gotten to know my legislators.  It is not necessarily easy to become informed about the people and issues involved; it takes some time and effort.

On Saturday I was invited to a meet-and-greet for a Republican candidate that I have no intention of voting for; I am supporting their opponent.  But I was invited by a friend and since I had not met this candidate I felt I owed it to myself, my friend, and the candidate to at least go and meet and speak to them.  There was no deception – I was introduced as a supporter of another candidate but we had a nice conversation and they were very nice.  After all we are both Republicans and share a lot of views, and one way or another after Tuesday we will be on the same team.

With that little bit out of the way, and having thoroughly debated the amendments for several weeks, I feel I am ready to cast my vote.  I recognize all of the names that will appear on my ballot and I think I am ready to make an informed decision.

Last night I began thinking about this idea of crossover voting and open primaries, and I realized that it will only take one Democrat voter crossing over and voting on the Republican ticket to nullify my vote.  This is more than a little bit depressing.  You see, in addition to the big-ticket races mentioned above there are also battles going on for State Representative and County Council and Sheriff and Judges and even the St. Charles County Republican Central Committee.

Think about that last one for a moment.  I have written about my experiences attending meetings of the Republican Central Committee.  I have gotten to know the players on the committee and I am beginning to understand the relationships involved and where everyone stands on various issues.  I am not alone in wanting to bring about change in the Republican Party.  Many of us want to see grassroots changes in the way things are done, and it is going to take effort to make these changes.

When a person crosses over and votes in the other party’s primary they also get to vote for who gets to be in those positions.  I, for one, know nothing of the local Democrat Party and would never think of casting a vote for who will be on their committee.  To me, that would be dishonest.  I have lots of honest disagreements with my friends on the left but they are entitled to choose their candidates and run their party as they see fit.

In my opinion Missouri needs to change to a closed primary.  If you wish to vote in the party primary you should have to register as a member of that party.  It is of course too late for this election cycle but going forward I believe we should work to change the process. 

As I thought about the possibility of someone casually picking up a Republican ballot and nullifying my vote I also came to a bit of a realization.  You see, the reason I had never met the particular candidate I spoke to on Saturday was that they had not attended a number of Republican events I had been to, including the Pachyderm debate for the office they are running for. 

I remember how odd I thought it was that a candidate would not show up for their own debate at a gathering of Republicans interested in who to vote for in the primary.  I realize now what I did not realize then – they are relying on significant Democrat support to win the primary.  This realization extends beyond any one race.  Candidates across the board are well aware that Missouri has an open primary process and so it is important for them to appeal to the other party as well as their own.

This explains why Steve Stenger labels himself a conservative in a race to be the Democrat nominee for St. Louis County Executive.  This goes a long way toward explaining a lot of what I did not until now understand about the politics on the Republican side.  Having an open primary fundamentally changes the way the parties operate.

I am still pondering these things, but in the meantime there is a primary election on Tuesday.  I have no problem with anyone crossing over to vote for a candidate because you fully support them and want to see them in office.  I have no problem with someone who chooses the best candidates from people that they know.  But often people will cross over and vote for someone because they will be a weaker opponent in the general election, and that is wrong.

I encourage people to vote for your own party and NOT cross over.  If you know who you are voting for and are casting a positive vote for someone you admire then by all means do so.  If you understand an issue then by all means cast your vote as you see fit.  But if you do not know who the people on the ballot are, please don’t vote for them.  If you do not understand the issues, then simply move on to the next issue and leave that part of the ballot blank.  And if you are simply casting a disruptive vote on the other party’s ballot I would ask you to reconsider.

The United States is a Constitutional Republic, not a Democracy.  The same is true for the states, including Missouri.  We have a representative system and we use the democratic process to elect those who will represent us.  Stepping into the voting booth is one of the few times we actually get the chance to directly affect our government, and it is a solemn responsibility.

Political parties are not part of the constitution but they have been an integral part of our system since the beginning.  The founders formed and used political parties and the parties and primary system help us narrow the field of candidates and enable a clear choice in the general election.  When we abuse the system as happened in Mississippi we weaken our Republic itself.  We create a cynical and dysfunctional system that serves nobody well.  Closed primaries would help ensure a more honest and straightforward system and we should look to change the process.

My learning curve continues.