OH: Libertarian Party of Ohio Endorses "Stop Top Two" Initiative in California

A press release sent to TPID via email:

Columbus, OH – June 4, 2010. The Libertarian Party of Ohio announced today that it is supporting the STOP Top Two initiative currently underway in California. The Libertarian Party of Ohio Central Committee, as well as the Executive Committee, has voted to support the Libertarian Party of California, as well as the California Republican Party and the California Democratic Party in supporting STOP Top Two.
STOP Top Two is a campaign against California Proposition 14, which would allow the top two vote getters in the Primary to move on to the General Election regardless of party affiliation. Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has mentioned bringing this same type of primary format to Ohio, and the Libertarian Party of Ohio is supporting STOP Top Two in hopes of preventing this from happening.

"What is top two voting? Simply put, it would allow an open primary with all candidates, regardless of party affiliation. The two candidates earning the most votes would move on to the November election. Write-in candidates would be banned. Independent candidates would need to compete in the primary elections against their well-funded (and often incumbent) opponents. Voters in many of our gerrymandered districts would only see candidates of a single party on the November ballot, and as evidenced in the state of Washington, reelection rates skyrocket to nearly 99%, well above the incumbency rates seen in the Soviet Politburo at the height of the Cold War, and remember – those elections were rigged and rife with corruption!" said Michael Johnston, Vice Chair of the Libertarian Party of Ohio Executive Committee.

For more information on STOP Top Two, please visit http://www.stoptoptwo.com, http://www.freeandequal.org, or call Beau Cain of the Libertarian Party of California at 877-884-1776 or Christina Tobin of the Free and Equal Elections Foundation at 312-320-4101.

The Libertarian Party of Ohio is the third largest political party in Ohio, and the only one dedicated to the principles of smaller, limited government, lower taxes, and more personal liberty for the residents of the State of Ohio. The Libertarian Party of Ohio has the same vision as the Libertarian Party, which is “for a world in which all individuals can freely exercise the natural right of sole dominion over their own lives, liberty and property by building a political party that elects Libertarians to public office, and moving public policy in a libertarian direction.” For more information, visit http://www.lpo.org.