Voting privileges at taxpayer expense

What is unfortunate is not, as Chris Ward (“”Change the two-party political system?”” Aug 27, 2009) would have it, that independent voters cannot vote in political parties’ primaries, but instead that the parties are given privileged access to the ballot, and that nomination of candidates in primaries — internal party business — is conducted at taxpayer expense.

It was a wrongheaded, effete approach to this, taken by the Arizona Libertarian Party with regards to its presidential primary in 2008: cancel the election.  

Way to make a statement heard by no one!  

Sane strategy demands that all participate or lose out, at least until a mass anti-partisan movement emerges.

The Democrats and Republicans are not going to spontaneously end taxpayer-funded primaries or replace our obsolete “”vote for one”” ballots with some sensible “”vote for many”” method like Condorcet voting.

It’s not in their interest to break their own fourth-branch-of-government gatekeeper role, however absurd the packaged-dealing seems to the rest of us citizens. Why can’t I vote for someone who believes neither modern economics nor global warming are hoaxes?

Bennett Kalafut

Physics graduate student

Former officer, Pima County Libertarian Party