Open Primaries

Republican South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster does not support calls from within his party to close primary elections to registered party members only. He has long pushed back against claims that non-party members will infiltrate the primaries to manipulate outcomes.

In 2010, California voters took the first step in empowering every California voter by abolishing party-controlled closed partisan primaries in favor of open nonpartisan primaries that advance the top two vote-getters to the November election. 

As the US kicks off the 2024 presidential election cycle, more than 23.5 million registered independent voters find themselves sidelined by closed presidential primaries in 22 states, a recent report from the Unite America Institute reveals.

Over 70,000 voters cast a ballot in the Republican primary -- and none of those votes are considered "legitimate" by the GOP. 

Photo Credit: Colin Lloyd on Unsplash

 

The West Virginia Republican Executive committee voted Saturday to switch to closed primary elections starting in 2026.

Louisiana, voters witnessed their legislature not only ignore their opinions on something as important as voter rights -- but lawmakers also spit in their faces.

Just one week ago, the entire country took notice when Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said he wanted to dismantle the state's nonpartisan "jungle primary." In the midst of a special session, the Legislature swiftly moved a bill through both of its chambers that did not give the governor everything he wanted, but still disenfranchises over 800,000 non-major party voters in critical elections.

Louisiana Radio Network recently published a conversation with Governor Jeff Landry's longtime political advisor Brent Littlefield, in which he discusses the governor's controversial legislative priority to dismantle the state's nonpartisan electoral system in favor of a party-run system.