Three cheers for Ingham County Circuit Court Judge William Collette who, through a Nov. 7 ruling, stands in the way of politburo politics attempted by both major political parties in Michigan.

Under a new state law that set up the January 2008 presidential primary, the Michigan Republican Party and Michigan Democratic Party would have exclusive access to all voter records in that primary. That's a big deal. It's good for partisanship but bad for democracy and bad for independent-minded political candidates and voters in Michigan.

Consider these two examples...

Let's say you're a well-respected local government official who wants to run for the State Legislature. But you're independent-minded and don't always agree with your political party's central platform. Under this new law, you're suddenly a slave to your party. If you want to effectively campaign, a very good tool in your district is the file of all voters who went to the polls in your party's most recent presidential primary. Under the new law, you'd never get that voter list unless you were fully in line with the party's official positions. "It corrupts the process and puts tremendous power in the hands of the two major political parties," argues Mark Grebner, an East Lansing political consultant known for using public records to compile the state's most detailed voter lists. Grebner and others filed suit in Collette's court to block the new state primary law.

Here's another example... Let's say you're a ticket-splitting voter. Sometimes you vote for Republicans and sometimes you vote for Democrats. Under the new primary law, you'd be labeled as one or the other depending on which primary you vote in. You'd either be on the Republicans' official mailing list or you'd be on the Democrats' official mailing list. In effect, your vote would be a "scarlet letter" accessible only to the political parties who could then target or ignore you, or use your vote against you should you choose to get personally involved in politics in the future.

Fortunately, there's a movement afoot to block this naked attempt by the political parties to concentrate power.

On Nov. 7, Judge Collette struck down the new primary law because of the provision for voter records to be a secret possession of the state political parties. Collette ruled there was a "clear injury" to the public and said it was unconstitutional for the public voter records to be turned over to the two major political parties for their private political and commercial use.

Grebner and a diverse group of citizens and journalists who joined the suit as plaintiffs argued the primary will cost at least $10 million in public funds but the voter lists would've been turned over to the political parties for free. That, Judge Collette noted, would've amounted to publicly-funded resources being given away to private enterprises -- the parties -- for private profit and benefit.

Eric Doster, an attorney for the state Republican Party, argued in open court that political primaries are, essentially private events, even if they are funded with public money.

Presidential primary voter records are "not the state of Michigan's property," Doster said. "This is the party's property. These are our members."

"Right now, the people don't have a primary," Doster said after Collette's ruling. "That's extraordinary."

True enough. But even more extraordinary, and ultimately insidious, would be the opposite result. Putting voting records solely in the hands of Michigan's ultra-partisan and bellicose state parties would have only impeded progress in Lansing. Collette's decision appears headed for appeals, possibly all the way to the Michigan Supreme Court.

If you are concerned about the impact of intense partisanship on Lansing's ability to lead Michigan through these trying times, if you desire independent-minded representation in the state Capitol, or if you care about the possible manipulation of your personal voting records, watch this case and hold tightly to your ballots.

Nobody has ever claimed, "anywhere in the United States," that public voting records are private property of the parties, Grebner said after Collette's ruling. "Not Dick Daley in Chicago. Not Alabama at its worst. Not Boss Tweed."