In Utah, many people hold fiercely to their political independence, despite their inclination to vote for Republicans. A closed primary system is liable to rub a lot of people the wrong way. It could drastically reduce voter turnout and remove the only opportunity some people have to vote for a particular office that may be uncontested in November.
Despite this, delegates to the state GOP convention voted overwhelmingly last weekend to change their party's constitution and institute a closed primary system. Beginning in 2002, voters will have to declare their Republican Party affiliation in order to receive a ballot in primary elections. Rules will allow for people to declare that affiliation at the polling site, but by 2004 voters will have to make that declaration well ahead of Election Day. Democratic primaries will remain open to all comers, at least according to current rules.
Most likely, many people will show up on primary Election Day having studied the issues and chosen a candidate. They will be surprised by the requirement to declare themselves a Republican on official, public voter rolls — rolls that will subject them to fund-raising pitches and other party-affiliated business — and they will either decide not to vote or they will become embittered by the experience. Opinion polls consistently show Utahns prefer to keep their party preferences a secret.
Ostensibly, the move is an effort to keep Democrats from turning out in large numbers to vote for the weaker of the candidates in hopes that a Democrat could win the general election in November. But in a state dominated by Republican office-holders, that's a difficult argument to swallow. At least, if it has been a Democratic strategy, it has failed miserably.
Closed primaries make some sense in states where two parties are fairly evenly divided. With a lively two-party system in place, voters stand a better chance of ending up with a hotly contested race in the general election. In Utah, many offices go uncontested after a primary runoff. A closed primary system seems destined to discourage political participation, which could lead to an increase in apathy and cynicism.
Republicans always have the option of working harder to get faithful supporters to show up for elections, or of unifying to get candidates through the state convention without the need for primaries. But closing the primary election — in a state where the party dominates politics — is a bad idea.