Thread: CA. Lawmaker wants to open presidential primary ballots to all voters

11:07 A.M.PATRICK MCGREEVY

Lawmaker wants to open presidential primary ballots to all voters


With voters registered as no party preference locked out of voting in this week’s closed Republican presidential primary, one lawmaker proposed Thursday to open future votes to everyone.

Assemblyman Adam Gray (D-Merced) and the Independent Voter Project announced the proposed amendment to the state Constitution that would create a single presidential ballot from which all Californians could pick and choose candidates from any party.

However, the proposal would leave it up to the political parties to decide whether to count votes from no-party-preference voters or those of other parties.

“When voters fill out their ballot they expect to be able to vote for their candidate of choice, regardless of political party,” Gray said in a statement. “While voters have that right in every other state and federal election, their choices are artificially limited when voting for president of the United States.”

In addition to being locked out of the Republican presidential primary, no-party-preference voters also had to ask poll workers for ballots containing Democratic presidential candidates and those of other parties. Gray said that is unfair given that elections are paid for by taxpayers.

“If political parties want to write the rules, then they should pay for the primary elections themselves instead of asking taxpayers to foot the bill,” Gray said.

Republican Party officials were not immediately available to comment on the proposal, which would have to be approved by the state’s voters.

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-p...htmlstory.html

Free hot dogs! California bill

L.A. Pride Parade–Bound Man Had Five-Gallon Bucket of Explosive Chemicals When Arrested

By Jacob Brogan

Police officers stand by to provide security for Sunday's Gay Pride Parade in Los Angeles.

Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images

Update, 5:55 p.m: The Santa Monica Police Department has released an image of the arrest report for the suspect, named in the document as James Wesley Howell.

Confirming earlier reporting, the report says that Howell had "three assault rifles, high capacity magazines and ammunition," as well as a 5-gallon bucket of explosive materials.

View image on Twitter

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Steve Patterson
✔@PattersonNBC

#BREAKING: Suspect in #SantaMonica identified. Police find a "five gallon bucket of explosive material" @NBCNews
2:34 PM - 12 Jun 2016

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Original post: The Los Angeles Times reports that authorities in Santa Monica, California, detained a man on Sunday after discovering “possible explosives as well as weapons and ammunition" in his vehicle.

Though details on the story are still scarce, the man claimed that he was in the area for the weekend’s Gay Pride celebrations.

The Times writes:

Early Sunday, Santa Monica police received a call of a suspected prowler near Olympic Boulevard and 11th Street. Patrol officers responded and encountered an individual who told officers he was waiting for a friend.

That led officers to inspect the car and find several weapons and a lot of ammunition as well as tannerite, an ingredient that could be used to create a pipe bomb.

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Jeff Nguyen
✔@jeffnguyen

Developing: Evidence gathered at Santa Monica location where man was arrested with weapons before LA Pride.
11:09 AM - 12 Jun 2016

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The Times reports that the man had multiple assault rifles, which is all the more frightening given that Orlando shooter Omar Mateen was able to carry out the largest mass shooting in United States history with a single AR-15 assault rifle.

TheTimes' source says the detained man's car had Indiana plates and that there is not believed to be any connection between the Sunday morning Pulse nightclub shooting in Florida and this incident. The FBI has assumed control of the Santa Monica investigation.

Los Angeles’ official Pride Parade is now underway. Memorials have already cropped up in the city for victims of the Pulse shooting.

Read more in Slate about the Orlando shooting.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slate...t_weapons.html

Year by year, the primary elections here in California become more and more pointless. Get rid of the primary elections. Take voter affiliation off the records of voter rolls and turn the issue over to the parties themselves.