CLOSED PARTISAN PRIMARIES DIVIDE AMERICANS
IT’S TIME TO LET ALL VOTERS VOTE

Gothamist: an unexpected 2nd primary in NY means there’s a loophole which will allow ALL voters to participate in primaries. As OP President John Opdycke points out this is an opportunity for politicians to actually campaign to the 1.6M voters that are usually ignored:

CNN: John Avlon think it’s time for America to admit we have a primary problem.

NWAOnline: The Arkansas GOP wants to close primaries so they can legally lock out voters and better ensure the candidates they want to win (aka career politicians) can do so with as little input from voters as possible

NY Daily News: Why NYC needs Final Five voting

Orlando Sentinel: Florida’s closed primary silences 3.6 million no-party-affiliation voters

Real Clear Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania, the state of Independents.

Colorado Sun: Colorado’s semi-open primary is a success. A fully open primary would be better

NY Times: As Faith Flags in U.S. Government, Many Voters Want to Upend the System.

WATCH:  Enacting semi open primaries in Maine–this story needs to be told all across the country

Columbian.com:  Jayne Gives Thanks for Washington’s Top Two Primary System 

RSVP: Our next virtual discussion “Algorithms & Anachronisms: How New Tech & Old Politics are Holding Us Back” featuring social psychologist & author Jonathan Haidt, former Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes and OP President John Opdycke. 

Idaho Capital Sun: The Republican primary is often the only election that matters in Idaho and now the ID GOP is trying to disqualify voters who have affiliated with another party 25 months ahead of the primary. 

ALReporter.com: Lawmakers may close Alabama primaries during next legislative session

BREAKING: Conservatives in 9 States Call for Closed Primaries by 2024

Daily Journal: Once again, Mississippi’s ‘open’ primary statute debated after tight second primary

The Inquirer: The Pa. voting system is primed to produce candidates like Doug Mastriano

Maryland Reporter: The Democratic party purports to be the party standing up to voter suppression but in blue state like Maryland 900,000 voters are excluded from primaries they’re paying for–MD Democrats could change this overnight

AL.Com: From open to closed: Why Alabama Republicans are pushing to change primary elections

Salt Lake Tribune: In Utah, the election that matters most doesn’t matter to most voters

BREAKING: Oregon Open Primaries ballot initiative has won in the Oregon State Supreme Court!

NY DAILY NEWS: 41 other states have a more open primary process than New York does. 3.5 million voters excluded but forced to pay for a public primary they can’t vote in.

OKLAHOMA: Oklahoma United just wrapped up the first phase of their statewide UNMUTE OK campaign dedicated to repealing closed primaries in Oklahoma

AZ Central: The system in which we elect our leaders directly correlates to the kind of leaders we get and the way they govern. Closed, partisan elections produce leaders who put party loyalty over our voters, pure and simple

St. Augstine Record: Florida’s write-in loophole law is used by both major parties to ensure they can close primaries and better control who ends up in office. “Legal disenfranchisement” is no better than any other form of voter suppression.

NY Post: New York’s likely new voting rights law won’t change the state’s real voter suppression

The Telegraph: Some in Ga. GOP want closed primaries after Trump picks lose

St. Louis Post Dispatch: Are closed primaries in Missouri’s future? Bill would ask voters for party affiliation

Public Radio Tulsa: Unmute Oklahoma is a newly launched campaign aiming to repeal closed primaries in our state

St. Louis Post Dispatch: Are closed primaries in Missouri’s future? Bill would ask voters for party affiliation

ABQ Journal: Few independents bought NM’s ‘open primary’ charade

The Mercury: Repeal closed primaries in Pennsylvania

CNN: Pennsylvania has a primary problem

WATCH: How to rebuild rural politics & why our future depends on it–Watch our full conversation w/ Maine State Sen.Chloe Maxmin & Canyon Woodward

Washington Post: All states should use open primaries. This goes for Maryland, too.

Deseret News: Unaffiliated voters could decide the Utah Senate race — but only if they affiliate

City and State PA: It may be time to rethink the role of the independent voter in primary elections

PennLive.com: Can anything bring some normalcy to Pa. politics? Yep. | John Baer

Bradford Era: Open Primaries for Fairness

Local 21 News: On Tuesday OP Senior VP Jeremy Gruber stood with local leaders & activists w/ Ballot PA & Independent Pennsylvanians to advocate for the 1.3 million voters currently shut out of primary elections they pay for–read more on the PA effort:

Bangor Daily News: Maine is heading toward open primaries for 2024–after years of working with local leaders and voters on the ground, all the hard work paid off:

Erie News Now: Ballot PA Calls for Open Primary Elections in Pennsylvania

Dispatch.com: “When few voters decide the vast majority of electoral outcomes, incentives for politicians change.” Our primaries should not only include all voters but force our candidates to then talk to them:

News 4: Voters in Nevada are one step closer to having an open primaries initiative on the ballot this November: 

ChapelBoro.com: Independent voters have surpassed BOTH Republicans & Democrats in North Carolina and they are now the largest bloc of voters in the state. In the next 15 years we predict Independent voters will be the largest or 2nd largest bloc of voters in a majority of states: 

TribLive.com: Repealing closed primaries should be a top priority for PA–running fully closed, partisan primaries where a large % of the population is shut out of the all-important first round of elections has deep, long-lasting negative effects to PA’s entire political culture:

Omaha.com: In some recent primary elections in Omaha–the most partisan 5% of voters are deciding the outcome for everyone–there’s clearly a better, more inclusive way of running these elections:

Arkansas Online: How one Arkansas leader’s commitment to upholding the status quo and party interests comes at the expense of Arkansas voters

Letter to the Editor: Threatening voters in open primaries is anti-democratic. Read his full story here:

NEW POLL: 64% of Pennsylvanian favor OPEN primaries rather than their current closed primary system–Voters want our elections to be as democratic as possible, it’s time for partisan insiders and special interest groups to get out of the way:

WATCH: Our last Virtual Discussion: “How Closed Primaries Disproportionately Impact Latino & Asian Voters?”

City-Journal: Independent voters have surpassed Republicans as the 2nd largest voting bloc in NY state but they’re still barred from the primaries they pay for–when will NY state step up and end voter suppression?

Herald Standard: On May 17th over 1.1 million Pennsylvanian voters will be shut out of the primaries just because they’re not registered as a Republican or Democrat. 15% of PA voters deserve a voice in our elections and they deserve it now.

TribLive.com: Between 2016 & 2020 the number of Independent voters in PA rose by 10%–this is a trend we’re seeing happen all around the country but PA is 1 of only 12 states where these voters are fully locked out of the primaries. 

Jackson Sun: The law is clear: in open primary states (like Tennessee) voters can choose which primary they want to vote in–this isn’t “crossover” voting but rather “Choice voting” and it’s LEGAL no matter what partisan insiders may try to convince you.

PennLive.com: PA Senator Lisa Boscola: “No American citizen should be treated as a second-class voter. Every person who is eligible to vote should be allowed to participate in all elections” 

ABQ Journal: New Mexico is taking a “baby step” toward open primaries this year by allowing independent voters to change their registration on primary day to vote for the major party of their choice–here’s hoping this tiny step leads to bigger steps that fully enfranchise the 26% of New Mexicans currently excluded.

WATCH: Fmr. Pittsburgh Steeler, 4 time super bowl champion & US Veteran Rocky Bleier is calling on PA to REPEAL closed primaries and let 1.1 million Pennsylvanians VOTE in primary elections

BREAKING: 350,000 Independent Maine voters are close to being able to participate in the 2024 primaries after BOTH chambers of the Legislature voted to fund the open primaries bill passed last year and send it to the Governor-a MAJOR win for democracy in Maine!

Philly Voice: 16% of PA voters (over 1.1 million people) are shut out of primary elections. Ballot PA, Senator Laughlin & Senator Collett are advocating for SB 690 to REPEAL closed primaries and let these PA voters vote! 

The Atlantic: Jon Haidt touches on a lot of what’s going on in the country right now in his new Atlantic piece and one key reform he endorses is ending partisan primaries. 

BREAKING: A lawsuit sought to overturn a 2016 ballot measure APPROVED by voters allowing independent voters to participate in Colorado’s partisan primary elections has been tossed out by a Federal Judge–the state has had record participation levels since opening the primaries to ALL voters.

Anchorage Daily News: The Future of Alaska Elections Begins Now–Alaska’s June primary will be first election using the new open and inclusive primary system: 

ATTN MISSOURIANS: Better Elections MO needs to collect 160,000 signatures to put a top 4 open primary/ranked choice voting initiative on the ballot–sign today if you haven’t yet! 

REGISTER: Our Virtual Discussions Series RETURNS Friday 4/29 3pm (EST) to discuss groundbreaking new research coming out of USC that conclusively shows that closed primaries depress not just primary participation but general election participation & that they disproportionately impact Latino & Asian voters. 

Chicago Tribune: Army field artillery officer, Students for Open Primaries Ambassador & native of Chicagoan, Jarell Corley’s advocating for Illinois to take action & embrace nonpartisan primaries to help address some of the very real problems the state is facing. 

IVN: Young people overwhelmingly do not trust our government, so it makes sense that a majority of them are opting out of the Democratic and Republican party and looking beyond the narrow lens our partisan system currently offers:

City & State PA: PA Lawmakers Collett & Laughlin are out advocating to change PA’s exclusionary primary system & finally open it up to 16% of the states voters who are shut out:

Bend Source: Oregon Open Primaries effort to get a constitutional amendment to let all Oregonians vote in primaries got a nice shout out in this new piece in Source Weekly–if you’re an Oregon voter who hasn’t signed their petition yet, do so today! 

Lancaster Online: It’s time to repeal closed primaries and end taxation without representation in Pennsylvania:

In 2016, we passed open primaries in Colorado. This week, historians & political pundits alike named open primaries one of the most transformative events in the state’s recent history:

BREAKING: The Oregon SOS has verified signatures for a proposed ballot measure that would guarantee all voters & candidates have the right to participate in the state’s publicly-funded primary elections.

NYTimes: In 2020, 10% of Americans effectively elected 83% of the House in America. Our current system is being decided by less & less Americans who are electing politicians who are less & less beholden to their constituents. We’re glad to have Kathryn Murdoch on board and a part of this fight to save our democracy:

MISSOURIANS: Better Elections has to gather 170K signatures by May 8th in order to get a Top 4 nonpartisan primary + ranked choice voting combo initiative on the ballot (like Alaska).

Tulsa World: Opening primaries to all voters creates an environment where politicians are actually incentivized to find solutions to difficult problems. Opening Oklahoma’s primaries could help solve several issues the state’s facing including improving their public school system:

CBS17: Unaffiliated voters are now the majority in North Carolina. In the next 15 years Independent voters will be the largest or 2nd largest block of voters in the majority of states across the country. Our election process should reflect this fact:

The Villages Daily Sun: The Rise of the Unaffiliated Voter in Florida

Colorado Times Recorder: Heavyweight Republicans & Dems Unite To Oppose Lawsuit Authorized by CO GOP To Dump Open Primaries

Idaho Statesman: How to reform Idaho’s closed primary: The case for a ranked-choice voting system

News Tribune (Missouri): Veterans support Better Elections Amendment to uphold freedom to choose our elected officials

USA Today: Think Congress is too partisan now? Primaries could magnify division as the number of swing districts shrinks

IVN: Why The Media Lies To Us About Independent Voters

Denver Post: GOP Effort to oust Unaffiliated voters from primaries could be real loser. 

The Fulcrum: Strengthening U.S. democracy is critical to deterring future aggression

Bozeman Daily Chronicle: Editorial board endorses nonpartisan, top two open primaries for Montana

SaveDemocrazyAZ has begun the work on the ground in Arizona to address the wide disparity in how we treat Independent voters and candidates:

The Fulcrum: Here’s How We Restore American Democracy (Glenn Nye) 

Matt Shinners (The Forward Party): People are ready for a new approach to politics

ATTN MISSOURIANS: Our friends Better Elections Missouri are collecting signatures now to put an initiative on the November ballot

TORRES: Time to End Texas Primaries as we know them

Why one WY voter thinks the effort to move up Wyoming’s registration deadline doesn’t actually solve anything but rather hinders and limits Wyoming’s unaffiliated voters.

Montana: It’s time for free, open primaries

BREAKING: Former President Trump is calling on Wyoming state lawmakers to pull out all the stops by changing voter registration rules to shut out independents.

ATTN: You can register now for our next Virtual Discussion we’re hosting w/ CNN Television & Radio Host, Author, Lawyer & Independent Michael Smerconish. 

BREAKING: A bill has been proposed in Idaho to change registration deadlines for independents voters and shut them out of the Republican primary

New York Times: ‘Taking the Voters Out of the Equation’: How the Parties Are Killing Competition

Veteran Vows To Push Back Against Closed Primaries (Webster Kirkwood Times)

Check out our new video featuring many of our friends and partners who are leading the fight to enfranchise every voter.

They fought for our country but are barred from voting in elections their tax dollars pay for–for more fact sheets visit our brand new research hub:

Florida Politics: Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber is calling on the Democratic Party of Florida to open their primaries to all voters.

WATCH: New Hampshire held a hearing last week on a recently introduced closed primary bill.

UTAH: Lawmakers should open Republican primaries to all voters (Deseret News)