Nonpartisan news and updates on legislative, legal, and grassroots efforts to open primary elections nationwide.
A Florida attorney has filed a lawsuit against the state's Democratic Party and Secretary of State Cord Byrd seeking an immediate and mandatory injunction that would require US Rep. Dean Phillips' name to be put on the 2024 Democratic presidential primary ballot.
California is one of only a few states that has broken the trend of increased polarization, according to a report released earlier this year. And the most significant thing that separates California's elections from other states is the use of a nonpartisan top-two primary.
A new report from the McKinley Research Group (MRG) finds that Alaskans are generally satisfied with their new nonpartisan voting system.
A third of Maine’s electorate will have an opportunity for meaningful participation in taxpayer-funded elections. Governor Janet Mills allowed a bill to go into law Monday that creates a semi-open primary system that gives independent voters a say in the state's primaries.
“When we encourage and allow more voters to participate in our elections, we all benefit,” said state Senator Chloe Maxmin (D-Lincoln), who sponsored the legislation. “Voters have been asking for semi-open primaries for years, and I’m thrilled that we have been able to make it happen.”
Voters registered as “Non-Affiliated” in Oregon now outnumber registered Republicans and Democrats, according to the latest voter registration data. Yet, despite being the largest voting group, these voters are denied access to critical taxpayer-funded primary elections.
The Oregon secretary of state has verified the initial sponsorship signatures for a proposed ballot measure that would guarantee all voters and candidates have the right to participate in the state’s publicly-funded primary elections.
In the past, primary reform in Oregon has hit multiple roadblocks – particularly pushback from the two major parties. However, Oregon Open Primaries has introduced a unique initiative that would force the state to adopt a more equitable primary process.
For a long time, pollsters, political pundits, candidates, and the media have ignored the rise of independent voters. They have called independents “closet partisans” or “leaners,” and they justify this by how the media twists the narrative.
Gallup has consistently found that around 4-in-10 Americans self-identify as independent. However, instead of asking why these voters choose not to identify with a political party, pollsters then ask, “Well, which of the two major parties do you lean more toward?”
In an email sent to supporters, former President Donald Trump issued a statement in support of proposed legislation in Wyoming, SF0097, which would shut voters not affiliated with the two major parties out of taxpayer-funded primary elections. It’s a position that runs in stark contrast to the populist approach he ran on in 2016 and 2020.