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Q&A
A debate on the impact of open primaries on the Working Families Party and fusion voting
1:29:23
·
5 min
Commissioner Diane Savino engages in a detailed debate with Jasmine Gripper of the Working Families Party (WFP) about open primaries.
Savino questions why the WFP, which is adept at mobilizing voters, would be harmed by the change, while Gripper argues that it would make targeting voters nearly impossible and more expensive.
Gripper also emphasizes that the proposal threatens New York's fusion voting law, which is a core part of the WFP's strategy.
- Savino argues that the WFP's ability to influence elections would not be diminished by an open primary system.
- Gripper counters that opening the primary to all voters would vastly expand the universe of voters they need to contact, making their grassroots efforts more expensive and less targeted.
- Gripper states that a key reason for their opposition is that nonpartisan primaries would eliminate fusion voting, a state law that is critical to the WFP's existence.
- Savino points out that when the WFP cross-endorses a Democratic candidate who then loses the Democratic primary, that candidate rarely continues to run on the WFP line alone.
Diane Savino
1:29:23
Thank you both ladies.
1:29:24
It's interesting to have two women sitting next to each other who are completely different opinions.
1:29:28
Yeah.
1:29:28
Presented them both very well.
1:29:30
So I'm gonna obviously, I'm gonna address miss Gripper from the Working Families Party.
1:29:35
So twenty seven years ago, when we created the party, I was there.
1:29:39
The vision of the party at the time was that we wanted to organize labor organizations, community based organizations, and others who felt disenfranchised by the Democratic Party.
1:29:48
That was the point.
1:29:50
You know you know the history as well as other people who do.
1:29:53
And we made a conscious decision that we were not going to go out and enroll voters in the Working Families Party because we wanted to be able to participate in the Democratic Party primary process, and that's still true to this day.
1:30:03
As of the end of twenty twenty four in the city of New York, there were only 22,206 registered Working Families Party members.
1:30:12
Right.
1:30:12
Right?
1:30:13
So the purpose of the party is really to be to move the Democratic Party to the left.
1:30:19
So you guys have already proven you're pretty successful at that.
1:30:22
Two weeks ago, you managed to launch a campaign to influence Democratic voters in their primary process to vote for somebody different than or actually to to reject a particular candidate.
1:30:36
So you've proven that you're able to move voters.
1:30:38
So how would this change to open primaries with the exception of the elimination of fusion vote?
1:30:43
That I understand.
1:30:45
That I get.
Jasmine Gripper
1:30:46
Eliminating fusion voting is a a big deal.
1:30:48
It's a state law that you would not actually have permission to do.
1:30:51
But but I will just say, just even to speak to
Diane Savino
1:30:53
Question before we could jump to it.
1:30:55
But even in the even when fusion voting is on the ballot, the number of people who vote on the WFP line when there's a democrat that matches somebody that you match is really not that high.
1:31:06
So people are still voting on the democratic line.
1:31:08
They're not voting on the WFP line for those candidates that you guys support.
1:31:11
I'm not saying that that nothing is happening, but it's it's we're not shifting all of those Democratic voters from the primary into the WFP line in November.
Jasmine Gripper
1:31:20
So I think, one, you're proving that it's false that, being enrolled as a Working Families Party member that I feel disenfranchised.
1:31:27
I don't feel disenfranchised.
1:31:28
I've been a WFP registered voter for a number of years, long before I even worked for the party.
1:31:34
It was a choice that I made.
1:31:36
I still feel like I get to get involved in our elections.
1:31:39
Participating in a Democratic primary or a primary election is just one way in which you can participate.
1:31:45
I still can collect petitions for the Working Families Party, which I choose to do.
1:31:49
I can still knock doors and talk to voters from any persuasion that I can.
1:31:53
And so I am a independent working families party voter who is still engaged in this process and not disengaged and not, overlooked.
1:32:01
And so it's really important to say that.
1:32:03
I to speak for myself, the others who are registered Democrats who are speaking for me, I feel empowered in my choice to be a a working families party member, and I still support that we should have closed primaries.
Diane Savino
1:32:14
What what would prevent the working families party?
1:32:16
Let's assume we have this this open primary process.
1:32:19
Again, it's June.
1:32:21
Candidates, go out there, and they put themselves forward for whatever the race happens to be.
1:32:27
They have their party affiliation on the ballot because it's important that voters can identify because party labels do mean something to certain to people.
1:32:34
The Working Families Party could run their own candidates, and you might potentially be at the top two and wind up winning.
Jasmine Gripper
1:32:38
Yeah.
1:32:39
And we we do run our own candidates sometimes.
1:32:41
Right?
1:32:41
Tish James' first election was as the WFP candidate only.
1:32:44
We have the ability to either fuse our votes with another party, or we have a our opportunity to have our own candidate.
1:32:50
But you can't change that we have that choice.
1:32:52
Fusion exists, and we should be able to fuse the votes.
1:32:55
And candidates are allowed to be on more than one ballot line.
1:32:57
I think the other thing I'll say is in terms of, like, reaching out to voters for our input is when we are looking at voters to talk to, you are vastly expanding how many doors we would have to knock in order to influence the process.
1:33:09
That makes it more expensive, and that makes it much harder to do targeting to get turnout.
1:33:14
We are when we are influencing a Democratic primary, we are only talking to people who are registered Democrats.
1:33:19
When you now make that open to everyone, it makes it nearly impossible to do any targeting, and it costs a lot more to send out mailers, to do phones, and to do text.
Diane Savino
1:33:27
Party would grow under that.
1:33:28
And and the the the final question I'll ask, and I I don't mean to I'm not I'm not trying to be argumentative, is maybe I am.
1:33:34
I don't know.
1:33:35
Part of my nature.
1:33:36
Is how often when the when the WFP selects a candidate in the primary process that's also running in a democratic primary and that candidate doesn't win, how often do you allow the candidate that you chose originally?
1:33:50
Right?
1:33:50
John Smith, democrat, also on the WFP line.
1:33:53
John Smith loses the democratic primary.
1:33:55
How often does John Smith go on to the general election on the WFP line?
Susan Stetzer
1:33:58
Very rare.
Diane Savino
1:33:59
Exactly.
1:33:59
Thank you.
Richard R. Buery Jr.
1:34:03
Thank you.
1:34:04
If you can if you can please please, disrespect the process, everyone's ability to sign up to testify.
Jasmine Gripper
1:34:11
Candidates are allowed to decline the line after losing the democratic primary after a change in state law in recent years.
Diane Savino
1:34:16
Mhmm.
1:34:17
Thank you.
Richard R. Buery Jr.
1:34:17
Any other questions for the panel?
1:34:22
No?
1:34:23
Alright.
1:34:24
Nope.
1:34:25
Thank you so much.
1:34:26
Appreciate it.