Adopted December 1974, June 1978

Members of the League believe that:

The goal of the primary process should be to select the best possible candidates for the political parties, with the greatest possible voter participation. The open primary system is the best means of achieving this goal.

The best method of nominating candidates for the office of Governor and U.S. Senator is the direct primary, with a plurality of the votes cast being sufficient for nomination.

Candidates for statewide offices to be nominated in the primary election should be placed on the ballot by the petition process.

The League supports an open primary. In this open primary, voters do not publicly declare a party but can vote for the candidates of one party only. To avoid costly and time-consuming run-off elections, a plurality vote would be sufficient for nomination in the primary.

Each candidate for state office to be nominated in the primary should be required to file a petition signed by a specific number of registered voters distributed geographically. A specific period for filing should be set, with a closing date before the primary which would allow sufficient time for certification of signatures and other administrative details necessary for the preparation of the ballot.