In The News - Open Primaries

What's the Plan for Disenfranchised Voters in Florida?

Posted by Russell Daniels on December 09, 2020 at 12:36 PM

written by Jeff Solomon for the Orlando Sentinel

(12/8/2020) Amendment 3, which mandated a “top-two” primary for elections, earned 57% of Florida voters’ support last month. More of us voted for it than voted for either Biden or Trump. A majority of our citizens want to let all voters vote in publicly funded primaries whether or not they are party members or independent.

Oregon: Closed primaries are unconstitutional

Posted by Russell Daniels on November 23, 2020 at 1:03 PM

written by Kevin Frazier for the East Oregonian

As the dust of the election settles, it’s easy for Oregonians to pat themselves on the back for a relatively high turnout and a fairly smooth process of receiving and tallying votes. But Oregon’s democracy isn’t just broken, it’s unconstitutional.

The democracy reform and Black political agendas must become aligned

Posted by Russell Daniels on November 05, 2020 at 2:28 PM

written by Dr. Jessie Fields & Rev. Darryl Gray for The Fulcrum

Gray is a Baptist minister, secretary of the Missouri Democratic Party and a former state senator in Kansas. Fields is a New York physician and a board member of Open Primaries, which advocates for nonpartisan nominating elections.

While Donald Trump vs. Joe Biden is, of course, the main event in American democracy this week, there are new conversations taking place in Black politics looking beyond this year toward important changes in the relationship between Black empowerment, electoral reform and the Democratic Party.

Vote yes on Prop D for Black and progressive power

Posted by Russell Daniels on October 26, 2020 at 11:36 AM

written by the St. Louis American

The first five years of a child’s life sets the stage for long-term social, cognitive, emotional, physical, and even economic wellbeing. Yet, despite the importance of this critical time of development, opportunities for early childhood enrichment has been overlooked and underfunded in St. Louis and Missouri.

The Fahey Q&A with two Florida teens eager to someday vote in open primaries

Posted by Russell Daniels on October 26, 2020 at 10:18 AM

written by Katie Fahey for the Fulcrum

Since organizing the Voters Not Politicians 2018 ballot initiative that put citizens in charge of drawing Michigan's legislative maps, Fahey has been founding executive director of The People, which is forming statewide networks to promote government accountability. She interviews a colleague in the world of democracy reform each month for our Opinion section.

Following a long day of remote learning, two high school students — 17-year old Elena Ashburn of Broward and 16-year-old Dariel Cruz Rodriguez of Orlando — shared their experiences as founders of Students for Open Primaries. The group is campaigning for adoption of a ballot measure that could remake politics in the most populous purple state — by opening Florida's legislative and other state primaries to all voters, regardless of party, and advancing the top two vote-getters, also regardless of party, to the general election. Our conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Why Joe Biden can't expect to automatically get the Latino vote

Posted by Russell Daniels on October 06, 2020 at 10:25 AM

written by Danny Ortega for AZCentral

The big wild card in Arizona politics, and in national politics, is the Latino vote.

Most Democratic Party aligned pundits assume that because Donald Trump insults Mexicans and wants to build a border wall that Latinos will automatically vote for Biden.

OP-ED We’re ready and eager to vote, but we can’t because we’re NPAs

Posted by Russell Daniels on August 31, 2020 at 9:23 AM

written by Dariel Cruz Rodriguez & Elena Ashburn for the Miami Herald

We both pre-registered to vote recently. Our party? No party. We pre-registered as NPAs — no party affiliation — following in the footsteps of 3.7 million of other Floridians. As NPAs, we won’t be tied to any party. In short, we are not satisfied with either the Democratic and Republican parties and how they run the country. More and more young people like us — including young people of color — don’t want to join a political party either.

Open primaries will benefit minority voters

Posted by Russell Daniels on August 31, 2020 at 9:17 AM

written by Dr. Jessie Fields for the South Florida Sun Sentinel

This November, Florida voters have the chance to expand the voting rights of all registered voters by supporting “All Voters Vote” — Amendment 3.

As a Black woman and a physician who grew up in the social isolation of poverty in the Black community of South Philadelphia, I support Joe Biden’s decision to choose Kamala Harris as his running mate. She is a woman of color and a talented politician. And as she said at her announcement, she stands on the shoulders of women of color who came before her.

Editorial: Nonpartisan runoffs would make St. Louis city elections more competitive

Posted by Russell Daniels on August 31, 2020 at 9:11 AM

written by the Editorial board of the St. Louis Post Dispatch

If much of St. Louis frequently seems unhappy with the city’s political leadership, it may be because, too often, the mayor and other top officials were chosen by a small minority of the voters. Mayor Lyda Krewson, for example, won the 2017 Democratic primary — which in this Democratic city is tantamount to winning the seat — with just 32% of the vote in a crowded field.

Endorsement: Baltimore mayor’s race shows why ‘top two’ is the better way

Posted by Russell Daniels on June 04, 2020 at 2:48 PM

By BALTIMORE SUN EDITORIAL BOARD

Maryland has for so long offered a “closed” primary system — in which voters affiliated with the Democratic or Republican parties choose their preferred candidates who then face each other in the general election (as well as any qualifying non-affiliated or third-party candidates) — that many people may not realize there are other ways to elect leaders.

Better ways.

Open Primaries in the news