Detroit News: Restore January 15th Primary

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071111/OPINION01/711110312/1007/OPINION

Sunday, November 11, 2007

House should move to restore primary

Michigan voters deserve to have a real say in the selection of presidential nominees. A Jan. 15 primary is an effective way to ensure that and should be preserved by the state Legislature.

The primary was thrown into question with a ruling last week by an Ingham Circuit Court judge, who said the primary violated the state Constitution because it limited access to voter lists to just the Democratic and Republican parties and their operatives. The judge's ruling makes sense -- if the parties have access to the voter lists, the public should have access as well.

But there's no reason the judge's ruling should scuttle the primary. The fix is fairly simple, if the state House acts with some urgency.

Thursday, the GOP-controlled Senate passed an amendment that would strip out the offending clause and maintain the primary without dragging in other issues.

In addition, the bill would add back the names of Democratic presidential candidates who bypassed the Michigan ballot under threats from the national party and New Hampshire. So Michigan would have a true, two-party primary that would attract the national spotlight.

House Democrats, however, are holding up the legislation, even though Gov. Jennifer Granholm says she supports a primary.

Some Democratic lawmakers prefer a caucus because it might help candidates Barack Obama and John Edwards, both of whom decided to drop their names from the Michigan primary ballot.

Others in the House want to hold the primary legislation hostage to a variety other issues, saying they'll approve the bill if Republicans agree to a variety of other election issues, including help with the recalls aimed at lawmakers who supported the recent tax hikes and a repeal of the voter ID law.

That's not fair to the voters of Michigan. The primary legislation should be considered on its own merits and not clouded with unrelated issues. The Senate passed a clean bill, and the House should do so as well.

Supporters of the primary could ask for an emergency appeal of the circuit court ruling. But the simpler route would be for the Legislature to act.

Backers face a Thursday deadline, when the parties must tell the secretary of state for certain if they will hold primary elections. The alternatives are party caucuses or a state party convention. The national parties have told both state parties that moving up their primary would cost them delegates at the national conventions next year -- but there are serious doubts that this threat will be carried out.

The advantage of a primary election is that it would allow much greater participation by voters than state conventions or caucuses, which tend to attract only party activists. A primary election would force the state's issues -- including the effect of government regulations on auto manufacturing -- to be part of the campaign discussion.

Michigan was right to move up its primary and challenge Iowa's and New Hampshire's monopoly on the early nominating process. It is a more representative state, and it has unique issues that need attention from the candidates.

If the primary is effectively preserved, we hope the state Democratic Party participates. Chairman Mark Brewer is no big fan of the primary and is said to be pushing for caucuses.

But Michigan has a chance to bring its issues to a national spotlight by holding a joint primary on Jan. 15. That's more important than angling to give one candidate an advantage over another.