New Road for Independents

California’s 2 million independent voters get their first chance to participate in a presidential primary March 7, but their votes will count only if they re-register as members of a political party, and time to do that is running short. The deadline to register or to change registration is Monday.

This will be the first presidential voting under the state’s open primary law, which allows a voter to cast a ballot for any candidate regardless of party affiliation. Each voter will receive a ballot listing all 23 candidates for president--Democrats and Republicans and those from five minor parties. The tally by the secretary of state’s office will list the total votes for all 23 candidates, but that count will amount to a mere “beauty contest� with no impact on the selection of presidential nominees.

Under party rules, only Democrats and Republicans can vote to award delegates to the national nominating conventions--the real function of a presidential primary. Ballots of the Democratic and Republican voters will carry special codes and be counted separately.

Crossover votes in the presidential race--a Democrat voting for a Republican, for example--will not count. There has been some effort by the campaigns to get independents to re-register in the major parties so their votes will count.

California voters also will select nominees for a U.S. Senate seat, for 52 seats in the House of Representatives, 80 in the state Assembly and 20 in the state Senate. In addition, 20 statewide ballot propositions will be decided. There will be local elections too throughout most of the state. In all of these elections, the open primary will be fully in force. Any voter can cast a ballot for any candidate regardless of party.

Californians who have voted in past elections remain registered as long as they have not moved or changed their names. Those who want to register or change their registration can find postcard forms in government offices and many supermarkets or can call the secretary of state’s voter assistance hotline at (800) 345-VOTE. Anyone not sure whether they are registered can call their county registrar of voters.