Florida Sunshine Independents

2011-08-19T18:33:00.000-07:00

Where is the Independent Voice in the Budget Debate?

2011-08-19T07:44:00.000-07:00

Op-Ed by Linda Ricke published in the Tampa Tribune and the Tallahassee Democrat

Two weeks ago I got a call from Fox News asking me to be a guest on a segment about independent voters. They wanted our reaction to the budget negotiations. I agreed to be on the show, even though the thought of being on national TV terrified me. I agreed because I simply could not turn down the opportunity to let the voice of independents be heard.

On air I was joined by independents from Virginia and New York, and together we had a four minute conversation that went by in a flash. One point I made seems to have resonated with many people whom I’ve had contact with over the last several days. Negotiation implies that there is listening, but whenever a member of Congress is in front of a microphone, he or she uses it as an occasion to blame the opposing political party. Independents want our elected officials to listen to each other, not just talk at each other.

My wish that our political leaders listen to one another seems to me to be common sense. There’s a lot of stress in the lives of Americans and it’s natural when humans get stressed, they become more irritated, less patient and less able to see or hear the concerns of others. But what I didn’t get to say in the few seconds of time I was allotted is that the very system that perpetuates this blame game mentality is fundamentally broken. In other words, it’s not a behavioral issue that has lead to Washington’s gridlock, it’s a structural one.

If the show had continued, I would have let viewers know of a national campaign among independents which calls upon Congress to hold hearings to examine the ways in which partisanship is so welded into the American political process that it has created structural barriers which prevent the American people from being heard.

The purpose of the campaign is to educate Congress and the American people on how partisan control of elections is causing too many citizens to be shut out of the decision-making process, namely that 40% of Americans have second class status as voters. Independents are urging Congress to investigate these biases by holding hearings.

Recent polls show the number of Americans identifying themselves as independents as between 38 – 40%. This greatly surpasses the numbers of either Republicans or Democrats, yet the two parties completely dominate the process by which our leaders are elected. This disconnect has created an unhealthy situation for our democracy.

The recent budget negotiations and debate over the raising of the debt ceiling have brought the brokenness of our partisan process to the forefront of the news over the last few weeks and have put our country at risk. As a parent of three adult children, all of whom have college degrees and two of whom have advanced degrees, I have watched their struggles in ways that, at times, make me utterly distraught. If the financial crisis of the last few years hasn’t been enough for them, they have graduated into underemployment, and the crushing financial burden that we are passing on to their generation and that of their children is enough to make me sick. I know that I am among millions of Americans who are deeply concerned about the future of our nation.

In World War II, Americans gave up butter and sugar and chocolate and new cars, and they gave their money to buy war bonds. They gave their sons and their husbands. Too many of them gave their lives. They gave till it hurt, and then some, because the alternative was unthinkable. They sacrificed what they had now so that their children and their grandchildren would have a future. Instead of dividing them, it brought them together because they were all making sacrifices to fight a common enemy.

Independents feel that without structural reform of the process we will continue to have gridlock and compromises in which the interests of the American people are not truly served. Given that those who are in a position to enact reform are the same people caught up in the partisan mess, independents will have to speak forcefully in order to be heard. Lobbying Congress to hold hearings on how independents -- and by extension the American people -- are locked out of the process, brings us together to fight for a better future.

Open Primaries in the News

2010-09-28T05:28:00.000-07:00

The following article ran in the Tallahassee Democrat:

September 20, 2010
Linda Ricke: Give independents a primary voice

Linda Ricke
My View
In August, Florida voters decided which candidates would be on the ballot for the general election in November.
More accurately, a small number of Republicans and Democrats narrowed the field and decided whom the rest of us can vote for this November.
Many find this system fair. After all, Republicans and Democrats are the two major parties, so it's only fair that they have a private election to winnow down the number of candidates from each party before the general election.
But what about the 2.5 million Floridians who are registered voters but not affiliated with either of the major parties?
These voters were left out of the process except for nonpartisan races such as city and county commissions, school boards and judicial races. In an attempt to open up elections, Florida voters in 1998 amended our state constitution to say, "If all the candidates for an office have the same party affiliation and the winner of the primary election will not face any opposition in the general election (i.e. no write-in candidates have qualified), then all registered voters can vote for any of the candidates for the office in the primary election."
Later, the Legislature essentially voided the amendment when it added the section in parentheses: "no write-in candidates have qualified."
The parties have taken advantage of this loophole by putting up straw write-in candidates in the general election to keep the primary elections closed to voters of all parties.
This is a sham.
Elections, primary and general, are paid for by all Floridians, not out of the Democratic and Republican party coffers. They should be open to all voters who take the time to register and go to the trouble to travel to their local precincts and exercise their right to vote.
With all the talk about partisan politics and the gridlock, more and more voters identify themselves as independents. They do not want to align themselves with any party.
This is especially true among younger voters, the vast majority of whom have no interest in party affiliation of any kind. This trend shows no evidence of waning. As more and more people are identifying themselves as independents, with a closed-primary system such as we have in Florida, fewer and fewer people are making the decisions that affect all of us.
This must change. Our own governor, running for the U.S. Senate, could not cast his ballot in either race in the primary election of Aug. 24.
It is time for Florida to join the ranks of the majority of states (33) with open primaries.
In June, Californians approved a Top Two Primary. This is a system in which any registered voter can vote for any candidate for a particular office, regardless of party affiliation. The top two vote-getters go on to the general election. In other words, voters choose the candidate, not the party. This is done here in local, nonpartisan races, when no one candidate gets 50 percent plus one vote in the primary.
It has been said that if independents would vote as a block, they could change the outcome of many, if not most, elections in this country. Independents are by nature, well, independent. They do not agree on all of the major issues, but they do have political goals. Their main objectives include bringing meaningful structural reform to politics by ending the two-party domination of our primary elections, to redraw the convoluted borders of congressional districts that virtually ensure single-party rule in many districts, and to bring about nonpartisan administration of elections.
The time is ripe to change our antiquated primary system in Florida. We won't change things by voting in the reactionary manner where we simply switch the party that's in charge every two or four years. We don't need anger. We don't need apathy. We don't need to surrender, thinking we're helpless. We need to tell our legislators that we want choice. We want candidates who can get things accomplished without having to answer to a party. The bottom line is that they answer to us. It's time we demand nothing less.

Candidate in Florida 3rd Congressional District Signs Pledge to Support Open Primaries

2010-08-27T17:55:00.001-07:00

Terry Martin-Back, an Independent candidate for the Florida 3rd Congressional District has signed the candidate's pledge to support an Open Primary in Florida. Mr. Martin-Back supports fiscal responsibility, health-care reform and an end to the redistricting policies that have created protected districts,whereby one party's dominance in the district is virtually assured.
To read more about Terry Martin-Back's campaign or to get involved, see his webpage.

http://www.martin-backforcongress.org

Please sign our petition in support of opening up our primaries in Florida.

2010-05-06T11:26:00.000-07:00

Please sign this petition in support of opening up our primaries in Florida

•In Florida and 17 states, independents cannot vote in the primaries.

•Close to 2.1 million Floridians are registered as independent/unaffiliated voters.

•Polls show independents making up 42% of the electorate nationwide.

•Floridians are being shut out of local and national primary elections; closed primaries disenfranchise Floridians.

Sign the Petition here

Mission Statement

2006-08-24T09:55:00.000-07:00

The mission of Sunshine Independents is to reform the political processes of Florida with the goal of creating better access and representation to the growing number of Independent voters in our state. We seek to bring reform minded individuals together across party lines and across ideologies.

Sunshine Independents is an organization that seeks to provide voice to Florida’s independent voters. Independent voters, by definition, reject party affiliation. In acknowledgment of that fact, Sunshine Independents is not a party. Rather, we are a resource dedicated to provide independent voters the structural assets of a traditional political party without the constraints of party affiliation that our members reject.

19% of Florida voters are registered as independents – that’s over 2 million Floridians. In addition, there are many more who remain registered as Democrats and Republicans but consider themselves independent. We welcome any voters who support an end to political partisanship and corruption.

To that end, we support the following principles or reform:

• Open Primaries – advocate that Florida election law be changed to allow independent voters to vote in primary elections and the right of voters of all parties to vote across party lines.

• Open Debates – allow all ballot-qualified candidates in all local, state, and national election access to debates. Acceptance of participation in an election should constitute willingness to debate one’s opponents.

• Redistricting – support for an independent redistricting commission which should include independent representatives not affiliated with either party.

• Representation – Florida’s Secretary of State Division of Elections is notoriously partisan, run solely by the party in power and locally by Democrats and Republicans. Independents should be included on Boards of Elections.

• Fair Elections – we seek the reform of our election process to preserve the rights of every voter by advocating same day registration, instant run-off voting, and the development of a fraud-proof paper trail to ensure the integrity of our elections.

• Referendums – preserve the constitutional right of Florida voters to seek change through the voter referendum process.

• Independent Registration – In Florida, independent voters are shutout of primary elections and this undoubtedly discourages many of us from declaring our status as independents. As of now, independents can only register as “No Party Affiliation.” While this establishes that they do not want to join the Democratic or Republican Party, we believe independents should have the right to register as an “Independent” voter.

• Term Limits – Floridians have voted twice in referendums to maintain term limits for state legislatures. We support term limits and oppose any attempts to extend legislative terms or rewrite the laws regarding term limits.