Is hyperpartisanship the new normal?
On Election Day, 287,587 Montanans voted for more freedom, better choices and greater accountability in our elections. In a year of historic campaign spending, division and partisanship, nearly 300,000 voters chose person over party.
As the bipartisan coalition behind CI-126, we were disappointed that open primaries did not make it across the finish line. We understand that it’s a big ask of voters to change not only how we elect our leaders, but also change the constitution in the process. But nearly half of voters did believe that change was necessary, signaling their desire to put the power over Montana’s elections back in the hands of Montana voters.
Regardless of how each of us felt about the election results, all of Montana breathed a collective sigh of relief on Nov. 6. The constant bombardment of negative messages on televisions, the radio and even our cellphones finally stopped. Now, the question we must ask ourselves is: where does Montana go from here? Is hyperpartisanship and deep division our new normal, or do we still believe in values like independence and consensus-building?
Our goal now is to honor the will of those nearly 300,000 voters who said “yes” to accountability and freedom. And we hope that those who were elected to office this year, who will step into the halls of the state Capitol or fly to Washington D.C., are ready to prove to voters that they too will put Montana first, not political parties and special interests.
Our state is facing very serious challenges and policy decisions this legislative session. Will our leaders be willing to work across the aisle and take tough votes that improve the lives of working Montana families? Or will they continue to elevate hyper-partisan issues that don’t affect the majority of their constituents, pandering to political parties and special interests just to survive their next primary election, regardless of what the majority of their constituents want?
Open primaries exist to take the power away from those political parties and special interests and allow all taxpaying citizens to choose from any candidate in the primary, regardless of party. Freedom, independence and accountability are all values that are worth fighting for.
We sincerely hope Montanans will hold their elected officials to a higher standard, requiring that they be responsive and representative of all their constituents, not just the most partisan. And we hope that our leaders will have the courage to make tough choices that benefit all Montanans.
We are Montanans, and we love Montana. That has been the driving force behind our work this year, and each of us is committed to ongoing work to put Montana voters first. We hope our leaders, newly elected and seasoned alike, will join us.
Montanans for Election Reform