Effort in South Dakota Aims to Drop Parties [View all]

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Effort in South Dakota Aims to Drop Parties

By KRISTINA PETERSON - March 28, 2016 7:57 p.m. ET

Voters to consider initiative to largely end party labels on ballots, set up open primaries

SIOUX FALLS, S.D.—In South Dakota, where the shadow of Mount Rushmore’s presidents looms large, political parties could become nearly invisible on ballots.

The antiestablishment anger helping to propel the presidential campaigns of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders across the country is taking a different twist here: fueling support among disenchanted voters for a ballot initiative with the lofty goal of getting rid of both political parties—as much as possible, at least.

When South Dakotans turn up at the polls in November, they will be asked to decide whether to eliminate party labels next to most candidates’ names on future ballots. The amendment to the state constitution would also establish open primary elections, with the top two vote-getters from any party advancing to the general election in most races.

The proposal is controversial among the state’s politically connected, but has resonated with some voters tired of partisan bickering. South Dakotans already vote for many local city and school officials without party labels, and some are ready to extend that practice well up the ticket. The ballot initiative would remove affiliations for all federal, state and county elected offices, but not presidential candidates.

“It would make people look for something different: what does [the candidate] believe in?” said Sioux Falls resident Regie Poppenga, a Democrat who supports Mr. Trump for president. The two political parties “haven’t been serving our purpose,” said Mr. Poppenga, a paint contractor. “That’s why Trump and Sanders are doing so good.”...

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http://www.wsj.com/articles/effort-in-south-dakota-aims-to-drop-parties-1459209463