Primaries open to all would level playing field

You lucky dogs, you 499,016 voters in Central Florida who either aren’t part of a political party or belong to a very small one. Your big chance for a greater voice in choosing elected officials could start in 2020.

The Florida Supreme Court is deciding whether to allow voters to cast ballots in November on whether to open primary elections for some offices to all voters everywhere in the state.

If justices give a collective thumb’s up, every one of those nearly half a million voters should be out there next year mashing that “yes” button — the one that will give them power they don’t have now because they can’t vote in primaries.

Incredibly, folks unaffiliated with a party or part of a small one now account for 31% of all registered voters in Orange, Seminole, Lake and Osceola counties and for 27% statewide.

Why incredible? Because just a decade or so ago, all but small percentages of voters belonged to one of the big political parties.

But the trend held, and voters disgusted with both the Republican and Democratic parties have chosen independence, along with new voters signing up to cast ballots but avoiding the two big political machines.

You’d think that the Big Guys would take notice, maybe learn a thing or two about the desires and predilections of their members. But, no. They’re too busy writing legal briefs for the Supreme Court justices that would help them hang onto their vast power under the primary system.

They’re against this proposed constitutional amendment for a bunch of stated reasons, but the real one is that it would reduce the power of the two biggest parties and put it in the hands of, well, a variety of people who are

them.

Currently, voters who don’t belong to either of the big parties can’t vote in primaries held in Florida in August, when Democratic and Republican party members choose the candidates