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In open primary elections in the United States, crossover voting refers to a behavior in which voters who normally participate in the primary of one party instead vote in the primary of another party. The behavior typically happens when the nominee of the one party is a foregone conclusion or when a candidate in one party's primary has an appeal to the voters in another party
The motives for crossover voting are sometimes strategic. Thus crossover voting has been used by voters to cast votes in the party a voter is opposed to in order to nominate a candidate which can be more easily beaten by the candidate the voter actually supports.
Some consider crossover voting to be a form of electoral fraud.
Electoral fraud??? Yikes!! That doesn't sound good. I know that school board candidates can cross file, but that is something totally different. Make sure your vote counts. Be wary of unopposed candidates who are asking you to crossover vote. Don't waste your vote. See you at the Polls on Tuesday!!!
30 comments:
Yikes, kind of hoped that a candidate for Commissioner knew that we don't have open primaries in Pennsylvania.
Dave Franklin
Dave, you comment is a little ambiguous, which candidate are your referring too?
Linfante whom is telling voters that it is an open primary or Elaine who is alerting voters to the strategy?
As a voter I have to be honest, I don't know if a voter can actually write in a name of an opposing party candidate in the primary election?
I would think not since the primary is for registered republican or democrats to select their choice for the general election in November. Independents of course don't have the option to vote in the PA primary for either party's candidates.
Are you saying that if a Republican writes in Linfante's name (democratic candidate) on their ballot for Ward 3 commissioner their vote doesn't count?
If you know the definitive answer please post it here and suggest the clarification over at Bloglebo since Linfante's post may confuse voters!
Thanks.
Dick Saunders
Dick, I found this link when reading about open primaries.
Open primary
I could be wrong here, but I think Dave is being supportive of my post.
Elaine
Thanks Elaine, at first reading Dave's comment I thought that also, but why not get Dave to clarify which candidate he's referring too.
I decided to go surfing for the answer and came up with this: "Pennsylvania has a closed primary system, which means that a registered voter can vote only for a candidate of her party. Therefore, a registered Democrat may vote only for Democratic Party candidates, and a registered Republican can vote only for Republican Party candidates. In most cases, voters who are registered as independent cannot vote for a candidate unless the candidate is running as an independent.
Read more: Pennsylvania Primary Voting Rules | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/list_6383865_pennsylvania-primary-voting-rules.html#ixzz1MMDM6xZT
So, after reading Linfante's web site suggestion to crossover vote is she one of the MTL hijackers that Rob Gadner referred to not so long ago at Bloglebo?
Is she deliberately trying to get registered republicans to throw away their vote in a primary election?
Furthermore how do we inform voters that her suggestion is an error?
Dick Saunders
Dick, here is your link again.
PA Primary voting rules
Actually, I was being critical of Elaine's suggestion that crossover voting could even occur. I would have expected her to know that it cannot happen in PA (at least as its described in the article she linked). We don't have open primaries, which is how I understood her original post. Writing in a candidate from another party is not crossover voting . . . it's simply a write in vote. Whether it counts or not in a primary, I have no idea. However, I'm pretty confident that it's not election fraud. If I write-in "Bugs Bunny" is it election fraud?
Also, if your concern is that Linfante is asking Republicans to write-in her name, please don't be an equal opportunity critic. I received a similar request from the Cannon camapign, who only chose to register as a Republican.
Personally, I'm a bit dismayed by all of the mailings, postings etc from candidates and their supporters that are encouraging plunking, write-ins for other parties, etc. Whatever happened to just asking someone to vote for you, the candidate? Why do we need to strategize more than that?
Dave Franklin
Aww, Dave, I thought you were actually saying something positive of me this time. I guess I was wrong. You try to give a person the benefit of the doubt, ya know?
I know that we don't have open primaries in Pennsylvania. That is why I wrote, "Be wary of unopposed candidates who are asking you to crossover vote. Don't waste your vote. See you at the Polls on Tuesday!!!"
Elaine
Dave,
I would take your comment one step further. If all the school board candidates except James Cannon cross registered as a strategy to win votes, then what is the point in having parties at all? This cross-filing thing seems a bit smarmy to me. Folks at the polls will not know if they are voting for a Democrat or Republican candidate. James is the only candidate who can be identified according to his party affiliation. At least when the Democrats write in his name, they will know who they are voting for rather then being kept in the dark. Unlike the others’ actions, that is called transparency.
-Charlotte Stephenson
One last comment to clarify....Ed Kubit and Scott Goldman are Republican candidates, but they cross-filed onto the Democratic ballot simply as a strategy to try and collect as many votes as possible. This kind of behavior leads to candidates like James Cannon requesting write-in votes from Democrats since such cross-filers are at a significant advantage. This may explain some of the dismay Dave feels at the posts about plunking or write-ins. Certainly, a candidate like Cannon holding true to his party affiliation is at a disadvantage given all the positioning and strategizing by the others, and those who support him are well aware of this game the others are playing. Perhaps there should just be a school board slate without party affiliations in the future? Things that make you go "huh?"...
-Charlotte Stephenson
Dave what is the point of a primary election?
I always believed the PA primaries are for registered voters to select their party's candidate in the November general election. (except in cases like judges and yes-- school board candidates that for some obscure reason can cross file).
Otherwise why not let independents vote in the primary and indicate their choice for one of the parties general election candidate?
It seems to me we need someone to clarify this matter for Lebo voters before Tuesday's primary election!
Otherwise there could be some real hijacking going on or some ill informed people will be throwing their votes down the drain.
Dick Saunders
Oh Dave, one more question. Is Bugs Bunny a registered democrat or republican? If he's a registered democrat and written in on the republican ballot that's a crossover in my book! Same the other way around too. The questions once again for voters is... does the vote count???? Dick Saunders
Dick, I don't think I can offer any new insight into the decades old practice of primary elections in PA. I personally think that SB candidates should be free to cross-file, primarily because my 3 children are not Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians or Tea Partiers. I don't know, nor do I care to know, the party affiliation of their teachers, counselors, administrators and coaches. Education - in my opinion - should be non-partisan.
I understand the flaw of a primary system that precludes independents, and at least one PA legislator has introduced legislation in the last couple of years to change that. Until then, this is the system we have.
I would note, however, this blog's host and Ms Stephenson are a candidate and a campaign manager for a SB candidate, respectively. I'm sure in these capacities they have done their homework to know the answers to all of your questions. Ms. Stephenson's candidate (James Cannon) has been circulating emails asking for write in votes from Democrats, but Ms. Gillen only finds it appropriate to criticize Ms. Linfante for such a tactic. And if these votes DON'T count, as Ms Gillen has suggested, why would Ms Stephenson encourage it on behalf of her candidate?
Earlier this week, I submitted a post about a SB candidate's failure to prepare and file the necessary candidate financial reports. In doing so, I drew a comparison between how many commenters on this blog wildly criticize the current SB members for similar administrative oversights or mistakes. However, Ms. Gillen - the self-proclaimed champion of transparency - chose not to publish my post.
So I'll add my own caution....when voting on Tuesday be wary of those candidates who tell you half of the story and who learn about the election rules from wikipedia or ask.com.
Dave Franklin
Best Wishes Elaine. Thank you for keeping us informed through your blog and web site. Don’t worry about your opponents. You will be fine.
- David McGrath
Ms. Stephenson, how does a candidate's party affiliation make him/her a better SB member? Do Republicans teach Biology differently than Democrats?
Candidates in school board elections generally cross-file. Has every cross-filed candidate in Mt. Lebanon over the years been "playing a game"? In my opinion, cross-filing enables me to vote for who I think is the best.
And isn't it fair to say that by allowing cross-filing the school board elections are the non-partisan type of elections that you seem to hope for? After all, if Mr. Cannon had cross-filed, this entire point would be moot. And no one would have labeled him as being disloyal to the Republican party.
Let's be honest, elections are about one thing - getting the most votes. Getting the most votes is a series of strategic choices. If you really want the job, you make the choices that increase your chances of getting elected. You may call it a game, but I'm sure the successful candidates view it as ensuring that their voice and the voice of the supporters will have a seat on the board.
Dave Franklin
Dave Franklin,
I chose not to publish your post because your statement included, "Also, any truth to the rumor that Cannon..."
As far as learning election rules from Wikipedia, I am not an attorney like you are, and have followed the manual from the Allegheny County Department of General Services Election Division. I didn't have a resident of Castle Shannon sign my nomination petition, forget to register a political committee, plant signs without permission from the homeowner like others in my ward have.
I will probably be the only Ward 3 candidate in the rain on Tuesday making sure that I am ten feet from the entrance when I hand out literature. I can see that one coming.
Elaine
Wow, Dave. I see your true colors shining through! Surely some folks look for these kinds of things, but I would not have expected this kind of petty behavior from you. You must really want the status quo when it comes to our school board. Given that your barbs are obviously directed at me and candidate Cannon I guess I had better clear this one up before your comment takes on a life of its own.
As the Friends of James Cannon treasurer, I went to the elections bureau prior to the May 6th filing deadline to complete and submit the Campaign Finance Report. I sat at their table for about an hour, asked a few questions of the supervisor there on the 6th floor, completed the report and walked it down to a notary at AAA. I then brought it back, asked the individual at the counter to look it over one last time, and she time stamped it. I asked her, “Are you sure there is nothing more we need to do?” She said, “No, this is complete”. A few days later we received a letter stating that there was a piece of paper missing, so James took it down the next day and that was resolved. The piece of paper stated that the campaign owes James for printing costs.
You were on this like white on rice, Dave. The letter was dated May 10th! Well, I guess when I file the next report I will remember that in addition to the county and state looking over my shoulder, I will also have David Franklin doing the same. I hope the next person at the elections bureau I ask to review my report will catch any errors because my credibility will surely be at stake!
-Charlotte Stephenson
Dave,
I don’t see why you are bringing teachers into this. I thought we were talking about the school board election. Given this cross-filing game, it seems to me that there should be a “school board slate” instead of candidates running on both ballots. That way, those who prefer to vote the party line would know to check the candidates’ registrations rather than see a nebulous ballot. Now, given your comment “You may call it a game, but I'm sure the successful candidates view it as ensuring that their voice and the voice of the supporters will have a seat on the board.”, exactly why were you “dismayed” at the suggestion of write-ins for James Cannon?
-Charlotte Stephenson
Dave:
Everyone's just gotta love your sniping, its so fair an unbiased! Of course Elaine and Charlotte have their agendas, I'd be surprised if they didn't.
But you... I gotta wonder... why are you here?
You dash in do you little attack and when asked for info proclaim, "I have no idea of the answer, I'm just protecting mom, MTL and the American way!"
You avoid direct questions with retorts about flawed systems or some other story. The misdirection-- is that common practice in the field of law?
Yes, Linfante isn't the only candidate that has asked people to cross file, I agree with you on that point. I'm not here to reform PA's voting system.
My question is still-- are voters wasting their vote when they do it?
Your sniping attack that a candidate didn't file the necessary paper work and how contributors to this blog are on current SB members for the same thing. But as you say beware of half the story. You forget to mention that their are residents that not only blogged about a SB member's sloppy paper work, they actually went a step further and lobbied the board in person to have that board member thrown of the board.
But you've done you job Mr. Franklin. Muddied the waters, cast your aspersions and provided no useful information.
You've done your job quite well, Dave, thanks for clearing things up before Tuesday.
Dick Saunders
Ms. Stephenson, if you think the financial reporting issue started with me, you need to re-evaluate what's going on around you. This information was emailed to me from a variety of sources only AFTER I mentioned on this blog that I might support Mr. Cannon. I'm not looking over your shoulder, but others certainly are. I'm also pretty sure that others who comment here received the same information. Since this is the transparency blog, I thought it was a fair place to raise the question. After all, I did so in a thread that was designed to offer information about the candidates.
My criticism is not of Mr Cannon, but how some people ignore things that they don't want to hear. Please know that I don't place much weight on the preliminary campaign finance report when evaluating a candidate. However, if you've paid attention to this blog at all, you would have to agree that if the same omission was made by a sitting SB member, Elaine and others would certainly be writing about it.
Dick, you need to re-read the thread. Elaine's original post implied that certain candidates were teetering on the edge of election fraud and/or asking voters to waste their votes. Charlotte then suggested here and in community-wide emails that her fellow Republicans, who exercised their right to cross file, are "smarmy" and gaming the system. But oh yes, I'm the one who is attacking, sniping or muddying the waters......Really?
Why am I here Dick? Well, I've asked myself that same question many times. I guess the simple answer is this - I want people who read this blog to understand that the stories or views reflected here don't always tell the whole story or represent the opinions of everyone. I'm not suggesting that Elaine's goal is to satisfy everyone, but when she doesn't it's certainly fair for someone else to chime in. And I don't even use a pen name....
Dave Franklin
Meant to write crossover vote, not cross file in earlier comment, which by the way is also a common strategy in a primary election when a candidate is unopposed.
Their supporters will cross file (switch party affiliation- say as example) from a democrat to a republican in an attempt to sway the election of a less formidable candidate to run against their chosen candidate in the general election. Then switch back to democrat after the primary.
Forget strategies... again, does anyone actually have the answer- can a voter write in an unaffiliated party candidate in PA's closed primaries as Linfante and Cannon suggest?
Even PA's VotePA website doesn't provide much of an answer. Its states:
In states that hold primary elections, voters choose their party’s nominees to run in the general election by casting ballots.
Pennsylvania holds closed primary elections, meaning you must be a member of the party to vote for that party’s candidate (for example, you could not vote in the Republican primary unless you are a registered member of the Republican Party).
Other states hold open primaries, in which you are allowed to vote for a candidate outside of your own party.
No mention of writing in an opposing party's candidate name, only that you need to be registered in party to vote in their primary.
I'd like to know before I waste a vote! Mt. Lebanon Party Chairs, surely your committees have access to the answer. How about someone from the election board!
Dick Saunders
I researched this topic today to present tangible facts and contacted Ms. Roxanne Buckels, Political Director of the Republican Committee of Allegheny County by telephone. She has confirmed that a write-in vote for James Cannon on the Democratic ballot is a VALID vote and I have her permission to post this information. The write-in vote WILL count toward the overall tally for James Cannon. This is NOT to be confused with “Crossover Voting” – something that is not done in Allegheny County. So, all this concern that a Democrat who writes in James Cannon’s name will essentially be throwing away their vote can be tossed aside.
For instructions on how to do a write on the electronic machine, go here: http://www.alleghenycounty.us/votereducation/ivotronic_demo.swf
-Charlotte Stephenson
Dick Saunders,
Here is how it would go down, if Bugs Bunny is a registered Democrat and asked for his name to be written in on the Republican ballot. At the end of the day on May 17, let's say I got 500 votes, my opponent got 2 votes, and Bugs got 5 write in votes, I would still be the declared the winner. The flip side to all this is that Bugs could lose votes if I reminded Democratic voters to write my name in. And may I remind Bugs that there were almost 4,000 signatures of both Republicans and Democrats who are pretty upset.
Now Dave, I didn't go to Wiki for answers. I went to a more reputable source, the Acme Corporation for this info, since it was highly recommended by Wile E. Coyote.
All joking aside, please folks. Take your vote seriously. The right to vote is a privilege, and it is our duty to exercise that right. I am disappointed to read that some people think elections are just about getting the most votes. I am running because I feel that Ward 3 deserves a better commissioner; one who will represent constituents, one who responds to phone calls and emails, one who will read the packet thoroughly and do the required homework, and one who could turn the job of Commissioner into a full time job. People know how dedicated I am to this community now, and that is just as a volunteer. I am not in this to see how many votes I can get.
And may I remind folks, that this is my blog and would hope that any more questions or comments about other candidates be directed towards their website or blog. I don't know of any other candidate who is going to this extent. Thanks for understanding.
Elaine
Dave,
Your post about the report was the first I heard of this, so how can I re-evaluate something of which I have no knowledge? I hope that now that you know the whole story you will challenge those who jumped on you as you indicated support for James Cannon. It wouldn’t surprise me, though, that others would stoop to this level in defense of their candidacies because the fact is that James Cannon represents the voice of so many residents who have been shut out of the Board’s process. Desperate measures? Me thinks so! What others do is up to them but this kind of nitpicking is not my style. I would suggest, however, that if something like this comes up again go ahead and contact James directly rather than post it on a blog. He has his cell number and e-mail address posted on the website www.james-cannon.com. Call him anyway – my guess is he will win you over if you take the time to talk with him.
As to your last barb, Dave, “Charlotte then suggested…in community-wide emails that her fellow Republicans, who exercised their right to cross file, are "smarmy" and gaming the system.” That is simply a lie, Dave. Produce such a document if you are going to make these wild accusations. Now your credibility is in question.
-Charlotte Stephenson
I thought this was the Lebo Citizens blog. If citizens are no longer welcome to talk about things citizens are generally interested in (such as candidates for elected office), what's the point?
Tom, the point is everybody now is trying to play GOTCHA!!!
Elaine went out of her way in my opinion to present an issue, her thoughts and allowed others to chime in. Its is now turning nasty and the other candidates sit by quietly and don't explain or answer anything.
Elaine, doesn't owe them or their fans a soapbox.
Since you're so publically minded why not take the topic over to Bloglebo?
Positioned as:
"Blog-Lebo is a blog about what's happening in Mt. Lebanon, PA. The site is authored and run by Mt. Lebanon residents Tom Moertel and Joe Polk, and is not affiliated in any way with the Municipality of Mt. Lebanon, with the Mt. Lebanon School District, or with any other public entity or business in or around Mt. Lebanon."
Well, the primary is happening in MTL. The HS construction or lack of- is also a hot topic. Incumbents want to be re-elected, new faces want votes.
Seems to me a blog that proclaims to be unaffiliated would be the best venue for discussions on these hot topics.
Dick Saunders
Thanks, Dick. That is an excellent suggestion. John Kendrick submitted a comment, which I chose not to publish. This might be a good time for me to take a breather. I still need to get the Commission recordings uploaded on lebocitizens.com which I have not had time to do.
Don't forget to vote on Tuesday!
Elaine
Besides having opinions about Mt. Lebanon politics (which I will try to leave out of this post), I'm also a political science professor specializing in elections. To clarify a few things (regardless of who said what):
1. Write-in votes are permitted in partisan primaries, and they don't have to be for a member of the party.
2. Voters for Mr. Cannon in the Democratic primary for School Director (or for Ms. Linfante in the Republican primary for the Commission seat) don't "count toward their total" (actually, I'm paraphrasing a little here from a comment. They count toward that write-in candidate's total in that particular primary. The Democratic and Republican primaries are two separate races. The only way that Mr. Cannon's write-in total in the Democratic primary (or Ms. Linfante's in the Republican primary) would matter would be if he were to get more votes (as a write-in Democrat) than one of the five Democratic candidates. Highly unlikely, as write-in campaigns are tough to do, and only registered Democrats can vote in that primary. Further, at least for some offices, there is (in PA) a minimum number of write-in votes required to get a nomination (this came up as Luke Ravenstahl's campaign tried to get him write-in votes to be the Republican nominee one year). This last item wouldn't be a factor in this election (at least for School Board, maybe it would be for Commission), because Mr. Cannon would need a ton of votes to finish 5th in the Democratic primary (the minimums I recall were in the hundreds for mayor of Pittsburgh), but it seems highly unlikely that Mr. Cannon (as a write-in) could finish 5th in the Democratic primary for School Director or that Ms. Linfante (as a write-in) could finish ahead of both Republicans on the ballot in the Republican primary for the Commission seat.
I'm going to make a separate comment in a few moments with what I think is a funny story about actual Open primaries (from when I lived in Utah). Hopefully, a good laugh will unite those of disparate views as election day looms.--Neil Berch
OK, so about open primaries (which I believe we now all agree that Pennsylvania does not have). Open primaries (in their purest form) have registered voters show up at the polls on election day and ask for whichever party's ballot they wish. About 1/3 of states have this form of primary. There were also about 3 states that used to have blanket primaries (you get one ballot on primary day and you can vote in the Republican primary for one office, the Democratic primary for others, perhaps a Libertarian or Communist primary if those parties had candidates on the ballot). The parties took Washington, California, and Alaska to court on this, and the Supreme Court ruled that this violated the rights of the parties. Those states have been busy crafting ways around that decision.
Anyway, when I lived in Utah, it had an open primary system. In 1990, there was a September primary. The featured race was for the 2nd Congressional district seat, held by moderate-to-liberal Democrat Wayne Owens (the seat was in the area that included Salt Lake City; it was the most liberal of the 3 districts in Utah). Mr. Owens filed for reelection, and he was the only Democrat on the ballot. Indeed, there were no seriously contested Democratic primaries for any office. The Republicans had two candidates for the Congressional seat, the party favorite, conservative Dan Marriott (of the hotel chain family) and moderate state geologist Geneveive Atwood.
It became clear early on that many Democrats would choose to vote in the Republican primary. I was fascinated by this, because I had never really seen an open primary before. Thus, I informally interviewed a ton of Democrats. They had two different strategies. Many Democrats said they would vote for Ms. Atwood in order to eliminate their worst choice (with Mr. Marriott eliminated, they would either end up with someone they liked in Congress, or at least someone they didn't hate). Other Democrats decided that they would rather mess with the Republican primary, helping to choose the weaker candidate. Here's where it got strange: about half of those thought Atwood was the weaker candidate (less funded, and the district would "never" elect a woman). The rest thought Marriott was the weaker candidate (the district would "never" elect someone that conservative). BTW, both were proven wrong in the following years, as the district elected two women and candidates to Mr. Marriott's right.
The election was held. Ms. Atwood won the primary, primarily on the strength of the votes of Democrats and Independents. She went on to lose the general election to Mr. Owens.
The Republican party leadership (and Mr. Marriott) were outraged. They said only Republicans should choose the Republican candidate. They proposed switching to a closed primary system like Pennsylvania's. The Democrats, while amused, agreed with their Republican counterparts, noting that next time the same thing could happen to them. The two parties joined to introduce legislation to that effect. It never got anywhere, as voters loved the open primary system and fought to keep it. They liked having a choice (the only time in my time in Utah when I could describe the populous as "pro-choice).
Happy primary day to all!--Neil Berch
Thanks Neil for the clarification. That's the information I was looking for as to whether a write in vote for an opposing party candidate counted.
I was concerned that since PA primaries are "closed" that those write ins would be basically a non vote, same as just leaving the ballot blank for that office.
As you state it is possible one of the write ins could defeat the party candidate and steal the primary, but its hardly likely to happen. One has to wonder why candidates even bother to suggest it.
Dick Saunders
PS: looking forward to your funny story- a little humor would be welcome.
Dick: There are a handful of circumstances where this makes sense. This isn't one of them, at least with regard to actually winning the opposing primary. However, if, for instance, Mr. Cannon got 500 write-in votes in the Democratic primary and also got one of the Republican nominations, he could claim that those Democratic votes gave him some sort of momentum/mandate for November. Same for Ms. Linfante the other way in the Commission race. In this instance, I think that's highly unlikely, but the cost of suggesting this to members of the opposite party is virtually nil, so why not?--Neil Berch
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