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Kellie Ryan
published A Screener’s Inside Look: Arizona’s Cry for Open and Honest Elections in Blog
2016-02-12 15:34:08 -0500
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Kellie Ryan
published Push For Open Primaries In New Mexico in Open Primaries in the News
2016-02-12 13:22:46 -0500
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Kellie Ryan
published Arizona House votes to repeal Presidential Preference Elections in Open Primaries in the News
2016-02-12 11:32:58 -0500
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Kellie Ryan
published Open Primaries Launches Campaign to Rally Support for New Mexico Open Primary Elections Amendment in Open Primaries in the News
2016-02-03 10:21:37 -0500
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Kellie Ryan
published Open Primaries Launches Campaign to Rally Support for New Mexico Open Primary Elections Amendment in Press Releases
2016-02-03 10:17:50 -0500
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Kellie Ryan
published Latinos disputan efecto de primarias no partidistas en Arizona in Open Primaries in the News
2016-02-02 18:04:48 -0500
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Kellie Ryan
published Open primary proposal moves forward in Open Primaries in the News
2016-02-01 10:10:25 -0500
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Kellie Ryan
published Feeling Abandoned by the Parties, Latinos Seek Election Reform, More Likely to Vote if Enacted, Reveals Arizona Survey in Press Releases
2016-01-27 09:38:28 -0500
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Kellie Ryan
published Arizona Latino Survey: An Appetite for Reform in Research
2016-01-27 09:37:48 -0500
- Latino voters in Arizona are disillusioned with the state of politics. 75% believe that elected officials are mainly loyal to their party, not their constituents. 93% support changes to the electoral system that would foster more accountability. 90% of Latinos think their community needs new strategies and new ways of empowerment.
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Latino voters are aware of the growing trend toward independence in their community (41% of Arizona Latinos are now registered to vote as independents). 63% of Arizona Latinos and 77% of those 18-34 believe it’s smart for Latinos to register as Independents so that the community is not tied to one party or the other. 81% of Latinos believe they should not be exclusively loyal to any political party.
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75% of Arizona Latinos support an open primaries initiative and would be more likely to vote for candidates and elected officials that did the same. 81% would be more likely to vote in 2016 if open primaries were on the ballot and 81% of Latino voters in Arizona would be more likely to vote in future elections if an open primaries initiative became law.
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Kellie Ryan
published Rep. Antonio “Moe” Maestas and Rep. Stephanie Garcia Richard Introduce the Open Primaries Joint Resolution in Blog
2016-01-26 17:47:01 -0500
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Kellie Ryan
published Black Bart Nominee: Symbol of New Politics in CA—Steve Glazer in Blog
2016-01-26 14:46:59 -0500
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Kellie Ryan
published Former attorney general launches Election Reform Initiatives in Open Primaries in the News
2016-01-22 17:24:08 -0500
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Kellie Ryan
published Coalition files initiatives on dark money, top-two primary in Open Primaries in the News
2016-01-22 17:16:50 -0500
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Kellie Ryan
published Group launches effort to ID 'dark money,' change primary in Open Primaries in the News
2016-01-22 15:02:04 -0500
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Kellie Ryan
published Proposals seek to upend Arizona election system in Open Primaries in the News
2016-01-22 14:47:44 -0500
Updates from the movement
On Wednesday, February 3rd, 13,837 Independent Arizonans came together for a conversation about the state of politics in Arizona.The event was hosted by Patrick McWhortor, Campaign Director for Open Primaries AZ.
Participants were able to interact live with panelists to learn more about the fight to open up Arizona’s elections to all. along with a panel of Arizona leaders. The panelists included: Former Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, Former Phoenix Mayor Paul Johnson, Attorney and activist Danny Ortega, President of High Ground Consulting Chuck Coughlin, and President of IndependentVoting.org, Jackie Salit.
Push For Open Primaries In New Mexico
This radio piece ran on KRWG, Public Media for Southern New Mexico and Far West Texas.
Open Primaries, a national leader on election reform, the group is working on a campaign to build support in the state House Judiciary Committee to approve HJR 12, the Open Primary Elections Constitutional Amendment. Edmundo Resendez spoke to former New Mexico State Representative and founder of New Mexico Open Primaries Bob Perls about the latest efforts in the legislature.
Open Primaries In The News
This article was written by Sydney Glenn for Cronkite News.
The Arizona House of Representatives voted Wednesday to repeal the state-funded version of the presidential primary.
House Speaker David Gowan of Sierra Vista sponsored the HB2567 bill that, if approved by the Senate and signed into law, would repeal Presidential Preference Elections.
For future Presidential Preference Elections, political parties would have to raise their own funds to cover the election costs. The bill would not go into effect until after the March election.
NEW MEXICO IN FOCUS
This piece ran on New Mexico PBS.
A look at legislation that could give voters the chance to vote to change the state’s primary elections. Debate and discussion on Open Primaries, both in the legislature and at the LINE Roundtable. Plus, diving in to campaign finance reform proposals also making the legislative rounds this year. THE LINE panelists also talk possible behavioral health cuts, & new wage rate proposals.
Open Primaries In The News
This article appeared on KRWG, Public Media for Southern New Mexico and Far West Texas.
Open Primaries, a national leader on election reform, today announced the launch of a campaign to build support in the state House Judiciary Committee to approve HJR 12, the Open Primary Elections Constitutional Amendment. This bill will give all voters in New Mexico equal participation and say in their elections, bring competition back to electoral races and offer New Mexico’s citizens the functioning government they so desperately want. The group has established an educational web portal that includes a petition tool to encourage New Mexicans to take action by expressing their support for the bill to their legislator.
"As a registered independent and as a spokesperson for the 250,000 New Mexico independents excluded from our most important election, the primary, I would ask members of both parties in the legislature to look carefully at this bill and listen to the expert testimony in the coming days,” said Bob Perls, founder of New Mexico Open Primaries.
Press Releases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEFebruary 3, 2016CONTACTJeremy GruberSenior Vice President(609) 610-1602
Open Primaries, a national leader on election reform, today announced the launch of a campaign to build support in the state House Judiciary Committee to approve HJR 12, the Open Primary Elections Constitutional Amendment. This bill will give all voters in New Mexico equal participation and say in their elections, bring competition back to electoral races and offer New Mexico’s citizens the functioning government they so desperately want. The group has established an educational web portal that includes a petition tool to encourage New Mexicans to take action by expressing their support for the bill to their legislator.
"As a registered independent and as a spokesperson for the 250,000 New Mexico independents excluded from our most important election, the primary, I would ask members of both parties in the legislature to look carefully at this bill and listen to the expert testimony in the coming days,” said Bob Perls, founder of New Mexico Open Primaries.
Open Primaries In the News
El grupo comunitario Lucha Arizona dijo que la propuesta para abrir las elecciones primaries a votantes latinos disminuiría la influencia del voto y de candidatos latinos.
La iniciativa que busca consolidar las elecciones primarias de cada partido en una sola y permitir la participación de votantes independientes tendría efectos negativos en el voto y la postulación de candidatos latinos en Arizona, de acuerdo a grupos comunitarios que trabajan para registrar latinos.
Updates from the movement
This article was written by Bob Perls for the Albuquerque Journal.
We want to congratulate the Journal for supporting open primaries. This is truly a non-partisan issue critical to enfranchising all voters.
Forty-five percent of Americans are not registered with a major party, 25 percent of New Mexicans are not and over 60 percent of registered voters under 30 are registered as independents. Insisting that New Mexicans have to a join a party to vote is unfair and violates the New Mexico Constitution.
Both major parties stand to gain much by supporting open primaries. By demonstrating that their beliefs and values can attract votes from independents, they will become stronger.
Updates from the movement
This article was written by Matthew Reichbach for NMpoliticalreport.com.
A proposal that would allow voters to decide whether or not those outside the two major political parties can participate in primary elections passed its first committee on Saturday.
Right now, only Democrats can participate in Democratic primaries and only Republicans can participate in Republican primaries. The proposal brought forward by Reps. Antonio “Moe” Maestas, D-Albuquerque, and Stephanie Garcia Richard, D-Los Alamos, would change that.
The bill passed on a narrow 5-3 vote, with all four Democrats on the panel being joined by committee chair James Smith, R-Sandia Park. The other three Republicans present voted against the proposal.
Open Primaries In The News
This article was written by Matthew Reichbach for NMpoliticalreport.com.
A proposal that would allow voters to decide whether or not those outside the two major political parties can participate in primary elections passed its first committee on Saturday.
Right now, only Democrats can participate in Democratic primaries and only Republicans can participate in Republican primaries. The proposal brought forward by Reps. Antonio “Moe” Maestas, D-Albuquerque, and Stephanie Garcia Richard, D-Los Alamos, would change that.
The bill passed on a narrow 5-3 vote, with all four Democrats on the panel being joined by committee chair James Smith, R-Sandia Park. The other three Republicans present voted against the proposal.
PRESS Releases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJanuary 27, 2016CONTACTJeremy GruberSenior Vice President(609) 610-1602
Phoenix, AZ – January 27, 2016 – Today Open Primaries, a national leader on election reform, released the second installment of an independent survey revealing that Arizona Latinos overwhelmingly support primary election reform, favor candidates who support open primaries and would be far more likely to vote if elections were nonpartisan and allowed all voters to participate in all rounds of voting.
The survey found that Latino voters feel elected officials in Arizona are failing to represent their community and their disillusionment with both Republicans and Democrats has Latinos – the fastest growing population in the state – calling for change and turning toward independence. In Arizona, 41% of Latinos are independent, a trend that is accelerating, and 63% of Arizona Latinos and 77% of millennials (18-34) believe Latinos should register as Independents so that the community is not tied to one party or the other.
Research
ABOUT | METHODOLOGY | KEY FINDINGS | LATINO VOTER PERCEPTIONS OF THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE IN ARIZONA | THE OPEN PRIMARIES INITIATIVE | PROFILE OF THE ARIZONA LATINO VOTER | CONTACT
Arizona Latino Survey : An Appetite for Reform
About
Open Primaries is a movement of diverse Americans who believe in a simple, yet radical idea: no American should be required to join a political party to exercise his or her right to vote.
The mission of Open Primaries is to advocate for open and nonpartisan primary systems, counter efforts to impose closed primaries, educate voters, train and support spokespeople, and participate in the building of local, state and national open primaries coalitions.
Methodology
Study of Arizona Latino Voters Methodology Statement
The Open Primaries - Arizona Latino Voter Study was a survey of 1500 Latino Registered Voters conducted from November 6th through November 15th, 2015 by Bendixen & Amandi International. The 1500 completed interviews were equally divided between high frequency voters (defined as those who had participated in 3 or 4 of the last 4 elections) and low frequency voters (defined as those who had participated in 0, 1 or 2 of the last 4 elections) and were further divided in each group to properly represent Latino voter registration in each of Arizona’s 9 Congressional Districts. Registered Democrats, Republicans and Independent voters were all included in the sample.
The sample selection process for this study was a representative random sample of registered Latino voters using a nth sample selection process including both landlines and cell phones across the Arizona database of registered voters. The process for selecting Latino registered voters from these voter files is extremely accurate. The respondents were interviewed by professionally trained bi-lingual interviewers and were provided with language of choice interviewing either to have the survey conducted in English or Spanish. This study has a margin of error of +/- 2.5% at a 95% level of confidence.
Respondents were advised that the survey is being conducted by an independent research organization and that we will not attempt to sell anything to them. Additionally, respondents were advised that all responses are kept strictly confidential and none of the answers they provided will be attributed to them personally or associated with their name or personal information. All respondents were screened to ensure that they were Latino, over the age of 18 and registered to vote.
Key Findings
Latino Voter Perceptions of the Political Landscape in Arizona
Do you think your elected officials in the state legislature and in Congress are mainly loyal to their community or mainly loyal to the political party they belong to?
Would you support changes to our election system that would foster elected officials being more loyal and accountable to the voters?
Do you think we need new strategies and new ways for empowerment?
The Open Primaries Initiative
41% of Latinos in Arizona registered to vote as Independents. It is smart that Latinos in Arizona register as Independents so that the community is not tied exclusively to one party or the other. Do you agree or disagree with this statement?
By Party
By age
Latinos should not be exclusively loyal to any political party, but force politicians from all parties to pay attention to the issues facing the Latino community and then deliver on what they promise. Do you agree or disagree with this statement?
There is a proposal being considered to change Arizona’s election system to a single primary election in which all candidates compete on the same ballot and all voters get to participate- Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. The two candidates, regardless of party affiliation, who receive the most votes in the primary go on to the general election. This “Top Two” initiative would ensure that all candidates and all voters, regardless of party affiliation, can participate in the primary round.
Would you support or oppose this initiative?
Initial Response
Initial Response By Party
Would you be more or less likely to vote for a local legislative or Congressional candidate if you know they supported making Arizona elections nonpartisan and allowing all voters to participate in all rounds of voting?
If the proposal to make primary elections in Arizona non-partisan, were on the ballot in November 2016, would you be more likely or less likely to vote in that election?
If the proposal to make primary elections in Arizona non-partisan, were to become law, would you be more likely or less likely to vote in future primary elections?
Profile of the Arizona Latino Voter
Age
Gender
What is the highest level of education that you have completed?
What is your total annual household income before taxes?
How long have you lived in Arizona?
Congressional District
Do you consider yourself to be conservative, moderate, or liberal?
Contact
For more information contact:
Fernand R. Amandi
Principal
Bendixen & Amandi International
305.529.9916
famandi@bendixenonline.com
Updates from the movement
The political class was "shocked and surprised" at the rise of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. They still don't get it! The independent voters who ultimately determine elections actually pay attention to what they do versus what they say! Once again the political class is attempting to circumvent laws and policies for their own personal benefit. Yet another reason to become Independent and Involved and "Chase those crazy baldheads out of town"!
Updates from the movement
Virginia voters: Do you believe legislators who want to limit your right to vote will represent your other interests? Me neither. The Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) has asked the State Board of Elections to administer a test in the March 1 primary – and they have agreed. Voters who select a red ballot will be required to sign a statement indicating they are Republicans.
Loyalty pledges are a RPV tradition. In 2008 and again in 2012, the party tried to impose a similar condition for participating in their primary – to vote for the GOP nominee in the general election – before withdrawing it under public pressure. They may go through with it this time. How should Independents – and other VA voters disturbed by this attack on democracy – respond?
Be Republican for just long enough to cast your vote. Then let’s turn our attention to taking back our government, because the latest RPV shenanigans are not the only symptoms of a chronically ill system. In the November 2015 elections, all 122 incumbent VA state legislators were re-elected and 79 of 140 candidates for the legislature had no general election challenger.
Updates from the movement
Santa Fe – Representatives Antonio “Moe” Maestas (D-Albuquerque) and Stephanie Garcia Richard (D-Los Alamos) have introduced the Open Primaries, House Joint Resolution 12 (HJR 12). The constitutional amendment would allow all voters, regardless of party affiliation to participate by voting in a primary election.
“This is a way to make the political process more inclusive for all New Mexicans” said Rep. Antonio “Moe” Maestas (D-Albuquerque). “The low voter turnout last year should be troubling to all of us. We must open the franchise of government to allow total voter participation in every step of the electoral process.”
Updates from the movement
This article was written by Joel Fox for Fox & Hounds.
California politics are changing and there is no greater symbol of that change than state Senator Steve Glazer.
Glazer represents a new division in state politics. With the Republican Party losing influence, the majority Democratic Party is beginning to splinter into different factions. This situation has been driven by California’s move to the top-two primary system. Glazer was involved in probably the most high profile example of a top-two intraparty clash when he captured his senate seat in a special election last May topping Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla.
Open Primaries In The News
This article was written by Bob Christie for the Associated Press.
PHOENIX (AP) - A former Arizona attorney general and a former Phoenix mayor are launching a campaign to bring elections reform to voters through a pair of ballot measures.
The Open and Honest Elections Coalition is sponsoring a measure to increase disclosure requirements for groups contributing more than $10,000 to a political campaign and a second measure to put all Arizona candidates on a single primary ballot.
Former Attorney General Terry Goddard and former Phoenix Mayor Paul Johnson are sponsoring the bi-partisan initiatives in conjunction with HighGround Inc., a political consulting and lobbying firm. The coalition’s goals are to limit the influence of dark money in Arizona elections and make it easier for Independents to get on the ballot.
Open Primaries In The News
This article was written by Jeremy Duda for the Arizona Capitol Times.
A coalition looking to dramatically overhaul Arizona’s election system filed initiatives that replace the state’s partisan primary elections with a “top-two” primary system and impose stringent election spending disclosure requirements to combat the phenomenon of anonymous spending known as “dark money.”
Open Primaries In The News
This article was written by Howard Fischer for the Arizona Daily Star.
PHOENIX — Saying the current system is broken, a group has launched a two-pronged campaign to convince voters to make major changes in the state’s political system.
One measure would revamp the election system for everything from statewide to local offices to operate closer to how most cities do. All candidates would run against each other in the primary, with the top two vote-getters facing off in the general election, regardless of party affiliation.
Proponents note there are more Arizonans registered as independents than with either major party.
Open Primaries In The News
This article was written by Mary Jo Pitzl for The Arizona Republic.
Unlikely allies want to shake up Arizona elections with proposals outlawing anonymous corporate political donations and replacing a primary system they say favors the extremes of both major political parties.
The proposed ballot measures are being spearheaded by two former Phoenix mayors who ran as Democrats for governor and the Republican political consultant who most recently backed Gov. Jan Brewer.
But Terry Goddard, Paul Johnson and Chuck Coughlin say they've found common ground in a quest that Coughlin describes as an effort "to reinvent the architecture of Arizona politics."
