One of the candidates who recently sent in his response to our questionnaire added a note at the bottom that says this: "Your Vol. 47 No. 2 Page 1 [IPEA's newsletter] was very offensive to any person who is running for office. People must stand for correct principles and vote accordingly. Cross-over voting should be made illegal!!!"
Its ironic that in this case he would benefit if people follow our advice and vote in the primary based on issues that are important to IPEA. He is running as a Republican, and his positions are much more favorable to IPEA than his incumbent rival, and there is no opponent to the Republican in the general. Those people who would like to vote for a Democrat will not have that choice in the general, so they need to vote for the Republican who supports more of their issues in the primary election. And in this case, he's it!
This "cross-over" voting argument has apparently disturbed some candidates. In fact, I will be doing an interview on right-leaning talk radio in eastern Idaho on Wednesday at noon because this radio host saw the newsletter. He thinks "cross-over" voting is unethical. That candidate and radio host are both wrong.
What they think of as "cross-over" voting is when you vote in the primary of the other party (the one you don't like) in order to sabotage an election. That's not what we were advocating. But even if we were, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. IPEA was encouraging "strategic" voting. For instance, if you normally vote Republican but you live in a Democrat leaning District, and there is a contested primary in the Democratic party, you could "cross over" and vote in the Democratic primary for the candidate you feel would best address your issues if that candidate is elected in the general election. Then you can still vote for the Republican in the general election, but if your guy loses, at least you have the Democrat that most closely fits your views.
Neither strategic voting OR cross-over voting are unethical and should not be illegal, and here is why:
Each of us has one vote. The purpose of our vote is to influence the outcome of an election in order to elect the person we want for the job. That vote is ours to use as we see fit. If you want to use your vote to influence a primary, then you should absolutely use your vote in that way. It's all you have. It's not only NOT unethical or illegal, it is your PATRIOTIC DUTY. So don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
And here's a note to the Republican party in Idaho. There is a move in the party to close the primary. This would mean that you would have to register as either a Republican or a Democrat to vote in the primary. They seem to think this would stop "cross-over" or "strategic" voting. They are wrong. Even in a closed primary, all you have to do is register for the party so you can vote in their primary, then you can still vote for the other party in the general if you want.
The Republican party would hurt itself by closing the primary because this will disenfranchise the independent voters who are not afraid to cross party lines to elect the right candidate for the job. And the number of independent voters is growing in Idaho as well as everywhere else in the country, and the last thing either party should do is discourage them from participating in the primary process. If you consider yourself to be an Independent, this move from the Republican party should offend you.
The Republican party would hurt itself by closing the primary because this will disenfranchise the independent voters who are not afraid to cross party lines to elect the right candidate for the job. And the number of independent voters is growing in Idaho as well as everywhere else in the country, and the last thing either party should do is discourage them from participating in the primary process. If you consider yourself to be an Independent, this move from the Republican party should offend you.
