Open Primaries
The most tedious issue I know is governance. I had no patience for it as a pulpit rabbi and it pushes none of my buttons as a private citizen. The idea of fretting over the composition of a Ritual Committee is as compelling as the dimples on a piece of matza. Voter I.D. laws are only a little bit better. I want fireworks, drama, last-minute rescue, color, light, and heroic deeds.
That is, of course, plainly stupid. Ruinously stupid. Unutterably stupid. The truth, as I’ve learned a hundred times over, is that great things emerge from granular detail. A synagogue is less about individual charisma than the laborious crafting of an institutional culture. It’s the face at the door, the signage, and the menu—how people are greeted when they walk through the portal. Elections are won by compelling candidates, but they can be undone by a pattern of prejudicial districting or the restrictive treatment of absentee ballots. If there are insufficient polling places in impoverished neighborhoods, it means that impoverished people won’t be able to vote. Everything matters, right down to the clock on the wall.
Which is why I remind you that the clock in Oklahoma is ticking down to January 26. That’s the day when the window closes on a petition-driven initiative (SQ 836) to create open primaries. Bear with me as I recite the obvious. American politics is fatally compromised. In order to clear the field of undesirables, party-identified candidates first run against each other. These primary contests play to the base, meaning people like me who are die-hard partisans. I would consider voting for a mainstream candidate, but I am invariably attracted to the edge of the edge, meaning the most liberal candidate with no appeal to Republicans.
In a primary contest that’s not a bad outcome, like a popularity contest at a feral middle school, but in the general election it means certain death. My liberal candidate will get no general support. The same is true on the other side. MAGA folk will vote for MAGA candidates. The difference is that prejudicial redistricting means that many of these people will be elected to office, especially in a state like Oklahoma.
An open primary means that we all vote together. In order to appeal to Democratic voters, hardline Republicans will have to moderate their views. The same for woke folk on our side of the line. Primaries will accomplish their primary function, which is to winnow the field of fatally compromised crazies, but leave us with (slightly) more moderate candidates who have bothered to consider how they look to the other side.
Will this always result in sensible candidates running sensible elections in sensible districts? I would be an idiot to say so, but I remain hopeful and optimistic. There will always be ways to game the system or defeat the intention of an open primary. But nothing could be worse than what we have now.
Which is why I urge you to sign the petition supporting the idea of new rules for elections. We have until January 26 to get sufficient signatures, namely 172,993 names on the SQ 836 petition. The key thing right now is to click to the website: HOME | Vote Yes 836. You are one keystroke away from taking crucial action as a signer, a signature gatherer, or a financial contributor.
Whatever you decide, here’s a chance to make meaning. If you’re part of the defeatist minority, there’s not much I can say, but if you have a hope for better elections, better candidates, and a less radicalized future for Oklahoma, SQ 836 is a very good strategy.