OPEN SEASON

February 2000
		Are open primaries a fair means of choosing a party's nominee? Louisiana State Law Professor John Baker and University of Iowa Political Science Professor Rebecca Morton answer your questions.

Online NewsHour coverage of Election 2000 Feb. 24, 2000 A discussion on the GOP and its "establishment" Feb. 22, 2000 McCain wins Michigan and Arizona Feb. 22, 2000 A discussion of the negative tone to the presidential campaign Feb. 17, 2000 Life on the press bus Feb. 14, 2000 Does the media favor Sen. John McCain? Feb. 11, 2000 Snapshots of the GOP campaign trail. Feb. 10, 2000 Snapshots of the Democratic campaign trail. Feb. 1, 2000 Following the press in New Hampshire Browse the NewsHour's coverage of the media and politics and campaigns.	In Michigan's open GOP primary on February 22, Sen. John McCain won in large part thanks to non-Republican votes. McCain garnered 82 percent of Democratic votes and 67 percent of independent. In fact, in all but his home state of Arizona, McCain has lost among voters who identify themselves as Republicans. "McCain went in there [Michigan], played by the rules and beat [Texas Gov. George W. Bush] soundly playing by those rules," Wall Street Journal columnist Paul Gigot said on the NewsHour. "But he still has that fundamental problem which is you can't win a Republican nomination for president when you lose Republican votes by 37 to 40 percent. That's the problem he has to address in these coming weeks." That's because in several of the upcoming primary states -- such as New York, Maine, Colorado and Connecticut -- only Republican voters will be able to vote for party candidates. Many party faithfuls argue that Republicans should have the only say in who becomes their nominee. They point to press reports prior to the Michigan primary indicating that several Democrats encouraged activists to vote for McCain simply to "send a message" to Gov. Engler, who was actively supporting Bush. Bush's campaign suggested Democrats were flocking to the voting booths to sabotage the GOP primary. On the other side, open primary advocates argue that a closed primary system limits interest and therefore voter participation. They point to unexpectedly high voter turnout to prove that open primaries are good for democracy, stimulating an electorate which has exercised the right to vote less and less in recent elections. What do you think? Does open primary voting taint the process of choosing a nominee -- or does it strengthen the process and improve voter participation? Is an open primary process unfair to party members who want to choose candidates who strictly follow party principles? Or does open voting provide a forum by which voters can truly vote their hearts in hopes of vaulting a candidate toward the final election? Pose your questions below. Two experts -- Law Professor John Baker of Louisiana State University and the Federalist Society, and Political Science Professor Rebecca Morton of the University of Iowa -- will answer your questions.