Lots of confusion about what is or is not a partisan and non-partisan
primary election. A Partisan Primary Simply means that all of the DFL
candidates run against each other to see who will represent the DFL in the
General Election. Also, all of the Republican candidates run against each
other to see who will represent the Republicans in the General Election.
Also, all of the Green Party candidates run against each other to see who
will represent the Green Party in the General Election. ETC. Also,
candidates who do not belong to any party go directly to the General
Election. A result of this type of election is that because there are so
many people in the General Election, a person can get elected with much less
than a Majority of the voters -- for example, Jesse Ventura got elected with
something like 36% or 38% of the vote. (don't quote me on that percentage)
A Non-Partisan Primary simply means that all candidates, regardless of what
party they may or may not belong to, run against each other in one big
showdown. Then the top two finishers run against each other in the General
Election. The result of this type of election is that whoever is elected
must get a majority of the votes. This could also mean, and often does in
Mpls, that the General Election would have two DFLers running against each
other. Or two of any other party.
There are other ways to elect public officials. In an Instant Runoff Voting
(IRV) system, all candidates run against each other in one big showdown.
The voter, instead of voting for only one candidate, ranks as many
candidates as they want to. Each voter says which candidate is their first
choice, which candidate is their second choice, which is their third choice,
etc. Then the votes are counted and if no candidate gets a majority of
the first place votes, second place votes are taken into consideration. If
no candidate gets majority counting first and second place votes, third
place votes are taken into account. The result is that every person
elected is voted for by a majority of the voters. If such an election
system were in place during the last election, it is my belief that Al Gore,
or even Ralph Nader(less likely), would be President now. It is my
understanding that a group is working to adopt this method for Minneapolis
elections.
Dean Zimmermann
Commissioner District 3
Mpls Park and Recreation Board
Candidate for Mpls City Concil, Ward 6
612-722-8768
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of
Tamir Nolley
Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2001 4:44 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [Mpls] non-partisan?
For all of the talk about the DFL v. the Greens. I would point out
that there might be many smaller parties such as the Grassroots Party or the
Socialist Workers Party who may be running candidates or supporting charter
amendments this year. I'd like to see them do so.
If this is supposed to be a non-partisan election, it doesn't
really feel like it. On the list you can see a lot of partisan shots taken
by people very committed to the parties they support, but sometimes in that
debate the actual residents that those parties are trying to serve get lost
in the whole discussion. Though I am a candidate seeking third party
endorsements, I really like the idea of the non-partisan election. It forces
each candidate to run on their issues and how they would best serve the
city.
I think the best candidates out there are populist and solution
oriented and the weakest run on their personalities (i.e. "My name
is........, I've done .... and .... for my community, I am....... and I
am....... etc.) Our campaign, The Nolley Trolley, is a large group effort,
so if I started doing that, for weeks I'd be hearing, "this is about more
than just you!!!," And they'd be right.
I know that the last election was very tense for many people, and
that there are a lot of bitter feelings about it, But we can move beyond
it. Remember, most Americans don't vote, and in the last election, about a
third of Minneapolitans didn't either. Let's think of constructive ways to
involve and engage people, not parties.
----------------------------------------->
| Tamir Nolley
| Candidate for Mpls City Council, Ward 6
| Mpls 6th Ward City Council Campaign
| Hop on the Nolley Trolley !
| http://www.nolleytrolley.org
----------------------------------------->
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_______________________________________________
Minneapolis Issues Forum - Minnesota E-Democracy
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