Photo by Louis Velazquez on Unsplash
Veterans For All Voters hosted a virtual webinar Tuesday with two members of Congress that may be on opposite sides of the political aisle but are sponsors of a bill that ensures independent voters are guaranteed equal voting rights in taxpayer-funded elections.
US Rep. Jared Golden (D) of Maine and US Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R) are two of the principal sponsors of the Let America Vote Act, which would end closed primary elections for federal office and create financial incentives for states to guarantee equal voting rights to all voters.
Especially, the majority of Americans that identify as independent of either major party.
“There are a number of reasons we need to do this. Number one, it is the right thing to do,” Fitzpatrick said during the webinar. “Our goal and aspiration should be for every single American citizen to have the right and ability and access to vote in every single taxpayer-funded election.”
The Let America Vote Act requires states to permit registered independent voters to vote in all primary elections for federal offices, including US House and Senate. How they choose to do that is up to the states.
But independent voters must be guaranteed the right to vote in all elections for public office paid for with taxpayer money. If states refuse, the bill will cut off federal funding while it offers increased federal funding for states that comply.
The webinar also featured Nick Troiano and With Honor CEO Rye Barcott.
Troiano is the author of “The Primary Solution” and executive director of Unite America, which published research earlier this year on the impact partisan primaries have on elections and the disenfranchisement of over 23 million independent voters nationwide.
Not to mention the millions of third-party voters who are largely left out of the primary process as well. Unite America found that the end result of partisan primaries in the US is that 8% of eligible voters end up deciding 83% of congressional races.
“One of our 10-year goals (at Unite America) is to abolish closed partisan primaries in our country so that it is the case for any voter that if you are registered to vote, you can participate in every taxpayer-funded election,” said Troiano.
He added that to date this has been a state-by-state battle for reformers, but said some federal action will be needed to achieve nationwide change. One of the biggest reasons is because about half of US states do not have a citizen-led ballot initiative process.
Most districts, both at the state level and the federal level, are safe for one party or the other, which means that many races can go uncontested, but also partisan primaries can be used as a weapon by parties against candidates who don’t toe the party line enough.
As Fitzpatrick noted during the webinar, primary is not just a noun – it is a verb, as the number one concern for most lawmakers is that they will get primaried if they do not entrench themselves deep enough in partisan politics.
As part of its research, Unite America commissioned polling that found that 77% of excluded independent voters think it is unfair that they can’t vote in taxpayer-funded primaries and 82% want to see primaries opened to them.
A majority of excluded independents also say they would be more likely to support a candidate and party that supports giving them fair and equal elections.
Unite America also commissioned a poll in 2023 from Citizen Data that found that 91% of people surveyed agree with the statement that “all voters should be able to vote for any candidate in every taxpayer-funded election.”
Further, 76% believe that candidates should earn a majority vote in order to win an election.
Fitzpatrick, Golden, and the other sponsors want to see the Let America Vote Act take center stage in this election cycle. Check out the full conversation during the Veterans For All Voters webinar above.
