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Q&A
Commissioner Diane Savino and Susan Lerner discuss education on open primaries and hearing schedule
0:50:20
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162 sec
Commissioner Diane Savino questions Susan Lerner about the responsibility of Common Cause and other good government groups in educating organizations about open primaries, an issue that isn't new.
Lerner responds that many community organizations feel overwhelmed with current voter education for the upcoming primary (e.g., ranked-choice voting in multiple languages) and haven't had the capacity to focus on potential future charter changes.
- Lerner also expresses that holding the hearing the night before a primary shows disrespect to politically active individuals and groups.
- Commissioner Savino notes the commission has had multiple hearings.
Diane Savino
0:50:20
I have a I have a question, Susan, because I know you're concerned about the organizations that, you know, sent an anonymous letter, with their the listing of their organizations, not a single not a single signatory on that letter, by the way.
0:50:34
That's persuasive to me.
0:50:36
But moving that aside, your organization works on this issue day in and day out.
0:50:41
It's what you do.
0:50:42
So what to what extent do you see common cause in the other good government groups as part of the reason of of responsible for educating, whether it's organizations that you work with or others?
0:50:53
This is not a new concept.
0:50:54
It's been it's been dealt with here before.
0:50:57
You know, we reject it in 02/2003, and I I think for then, for the right reason, but it was a very different time.
0:51:03
But now the work that you've done, you've come to talk to me about it, whether I was I was up in Albany or here at the city hall about how do we expand the franchise to include more voters who have specifically told your organization they do not want to belong to a party.
0:51:19
So how do we just say, well, we need more time to talk to people who, one, don't wanna hear it?
0:51:24
There are some people who will never listen to this.
Susan Lerner
0:51:26
Well, but what I'm hearing from are the people who are actually eager to learn more about it but feel overwhelmed by the fact that the primary, right, the ranked choice voting primary is tomorrow, that they have spent the last four months trying to educate their voters in Mandarin, in Korean, in Cantonese, in Urdu, in various languages, and they basically feel overburdened.
0:51:52
It's not that they don't want to focus on it.
0:51:55
It's that they actually have to deal with what's directly in front of their voters.
0:52:00
And I have to say that there is a certain amount of disrespect to those who are politically active to hold this hearing on the night before the primary.
0:52:10
It shows that you do not want to hear from those who are politically engaged.
0:52:14
I was genuinely surprised.
Diane Savino
0:52:15
We've had I'm sure it's tracked But my response hearings.
Susan Lerner
0:52:19
We've response is is what it has been from the beginning, which is if you feel you have to go forward with something that will be in effect in four years, then I would agree with the advocate who testified last time and say, keep it simple.
0:52:36
Make it as easy as possible, and that is a semi open primary.
0:52:40
If what you are concerned about is that it is unfair for 1,100,000 not to be able to vote in a primary, then allow them to vote in a primary.
0:52:50
So It's the simplest, easiest thing to explain.
0:52:53
It has the least disruptive factor, and it isn't just rearranging the furniture for what academics tell us gains us nothing.