Bill Cotterell: Lawmakers Should Close Loophole, But Won’t

Vote for the candidate of your choice, they urge us, but vote! We owe it to brave Americans who’ve suffered and died for our right to choose our leaders and voice our beliefs at the polls. It’s a cherished privilege, bordering on a sacred obligation.

They pronounce such pieties with a straight face, but what they really mean is, “You need to vote our way.” If you’re not likely to support their side, the politicians aren’t so eager to get you the polls; in fact, they’ll even try to stop you.

Florida has just had party primaries in which an estimated 2 million eligible residents were barred from voting in some state and local races by an indefensible little gimmick commonly known as the “write-in loophole.” It’s a legal fiction both parties refuse to fix because, every now and then, it comes in handy for them.

We have closed primaries. Only Democrats can vote in the Democratic primaries, only Republicans vote in the GOP contests, and everybody else has to wait until the November general election. That works well enough, mostly, when Democrats and Republicans square off in races for the big offices like governor, Cabinet seats, congressional seats and state legislative offices.

But sometimes — usually when a district or a whole county is bright red or deep blue — one party won’t bother putting up even a token candidate for a legislative seat or a down-ballot office.

So then we wind up with two or three, or more, hopefuls from the same party running. The winner of the primary will, therefore, become the sheriff or property appraiser or tax collector — whatever.

In 1998, Floridians approved a constitutional amendment providing that when only one party has candidates for an office, all voters may cast ballots in that race. The idea being, since the nominee is going to get the office, everyone should get to vote.

Ahh, that’s when the write-in loophole makes its mischief. The state Division of Election issued a legal opinion saying that write-in candidates are real candidates, even though they don’t appear on any ballot. So instead of having an open primary, in which all registered voters of a district may vote, you or I could simply sign up as a write-in candidate and close the primary that’s going to decide the whole race.

The law, in its majesty, views us all equally and these offices belong to the people. Legally, you and I have as much right to run as the most entrenched incumbent, or a challenger hand-picked and financed by a political machine. But, you and I not being stupid, we don’t waste a few thousand bucks paying a qualifying fee for a race we’re bound to lose.

Some of us, though, will run as a write-in to close the primary for a friend in a one-party race.

Imagine a district in which 45 percent of the voters are very conservative, so I run to the right of my fellow party members. But about 55 percent of the people are moderate to liberal, and I don’t want them voting in our primary. I simply get someone to register as a write-in candidate, and only us right-wingers get to vote in the primary — which I win and am home free.

It works the same on the left, in areas with a lot of liberals. Which is why neither Democrats nor Republicans will try to eliminate the write-in loophole.

Closing that loophole would have the welcome effect of moving both parties toward the political center. If millions of independents and members of third parties could vote, Republicans would have to edge away from the Trump cult and Democrats would be less captive of their looney left.

The Florida Trident, a publication of the nonpartisan Florida Center for Government Accountability, reported that ghosting by write-ins occurred in 20 counties during the recent primaries. It estimated 2 million voters were shut out of casting ballots in races.

Surely some write-in candidates are sincere. Maybe they want to make a moral statement or offer their neighbors a choice at the polls but can’t afford the qualifying fee.

So let them all run. Just don’t let them close primaries for millions of Floridians who’ve never heard of them.

Bill Cotterell is a retired capitol reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat and United Press International. He can be reached at wrcott43@aol.com