People.

The play of the machine was to make the direct nomination difficult and
impracticable and, if possible, entirely ineffective. The real
supporters of the Direct Primary idea aimed to make the nomination as
simple as possible, and easily attained, that genuine expression of the
choice of the electors could be secured.

But instead of aiming at simplicity and direct methods, the Direct
Primary bill, introduced in the Senate by Wright and in the Assembly by
Stanton[35], threw a confusing mass of partisan detail about the
selection of the primary candidate. It was made practically impossible
for an independent citizen believing in the principles of a given party,
but withholding his right to exercise the citizen's judgment at the
polls, to become a primary candidate. Throughout, the measure made it
smooth sailing for the mere partisan and extremely hard for independent
Republican or independent Democrat to secure party nomination[35a].

For example, the candidate for party nomination, was, according to the
terms of the bill, required not only to set forth the name of the party
under which he might seek nomination, but to make affidavit "that he
affiliated with said party at the last preceding general election, and
either that he did not vote thereat, or voted for a majority of the
candidates of said party at said next preceding general election, and
intends to so vote at the ensuing election."

Thus, no citizen who had not supported the majority of his party
candidates at the previous election, and who was unwilling to take an
oath before their nomination, to support a majority of the candidates at
the next ensuing election, was to be eligible for primary nomination to