Open Primary System Upheld
A federal appeals court judge said the Democratic Party failed to show a “clear and present danger.”
In a ruling Monday, 9th Circuit Court of Appeals聽Judge Wallace Tashima upheld Hawaii’s open primary elections that allow registered voters to choose any party’s ballot to cast their votes, the .
The had wanted to limit primary elections to voters who have declared their allegiance to the party so as to prevent Republicans or others from casting ballots for聽Democrats in an attempt to sway which candidate gets chosen.
But Tashima said the Democratic Party failed to provide evidence of a “clear and present danger” demonstrating how Hawaii’s system affects the party’s ability to select its nominees.
The Democratic Party of Hawaii sued the state Office of Elections in 2013, seeking to limit participation in the Democratic primary election to registered Democrats only, the Hawaii Attorney General’s office said in a release Monday.
鈥淭he open primary is part of Hawaii鈥檚 commitment to make voting easier and to include more persons in the democratic process,鈥 said Attorney General Doug Chin. 鈥淭his ruling keeps Hawaii鈥檚 primary elections open to all registered voters, regardless of their formal party affiliation.鈥
The聽ruling has no effect on the 2016 primary or general elections, the AG’s office said.
Read the full AP story聽.
Read the full court opinion below.
