Open Primaries

06/01/2026

Independent voters hear the same criticisms over and over:

"Just join a party."

"Primaries belong to parties."

"Why should independents get a say?"

Open Primaries SVP Jeremy Gruber recently joined Michael Smerconish on CNN to respond directly to these arguments and explain why millions of voters are still excluded from taxpayer-funded primary elections.

Watch the conversation and tell us: What argument against open primaries do you hear most often?

05/31/2026

Why are politicians so afraid of open primaries?

In this clip, Michael Smerconish explains how closed primaries reward partisan loyalty, punish independent thinking, and shut millions of voters out of the elections that matter most.

From Louisiana to Kentucky to Pennsylvania, the system is increasingly designed to protect party power — not voters.

This intro sets the stage for a deeper conversation with Open Primaries SVP Jeremy Gruber on why opening our elections matters.

Watch the full clip below ⬇️

05/30/2026

A new USA Today opinion piece examines the continued rise of independent voters and questions about participation in closed primary systems.

The article notes that 45% of Americans identify as independents according to Gallup, and includes perspectives from Open Primaries President John Opdycke and National Organizing Director Cathy Stewart on changing voter trends and generational shifts.

Read here:

During the May 19 Philadelphia primary, more than one in five voters in Pennsylvania's 3rd District had no say.

05/29/2026

Pennsylvania has 1.5 million independent voters — and they are still locked out of taxpayer-funded primary elections.

This week independent voters showed up at polling places in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with a simple message: enough is enough.

Independent voters are the fastest-growing group of voters in Pennsylvania and across the country, yet millions are still denied a voice in elections that often determine who ultimately holds power.

The pressure for reform is growing — and people are paying attention.

Read our latest Primary Buzz newsletter, now featured on IVN:

Independent voters in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh showed up at polling places across Pennsylvania on Tuesday with a simple message: stop locking 1.5 million voters out of taxpayer-funded elections. But there's more!

05/28/2026

What did California learn after adopting “top two” primaries?

According to Professor Andrew Sinclair of Claremont McKenna College:
✅ Competition increased
✅ Participation increased
✅ Independent voters became more engaged in the process

In recent testimony, Sinclair explained that California’s reform created more meaningful elections — especially in districts where one party previously dominated and the real contest happened in a low-turnout partisan primary.

Under the old system, many independent voters were effectively excluded from participation. Under “top two,” every voter receives the same ballot and can vote for any candidate.

As Sinclair put it:
“Partisan primaries exclude many voters. Nonpartisan rules bring them back in.”

His testimony also highlights how same-party general elections increased competition in districts where general elections had previously been noncompetitive and largely symbolic.

As more states debate primary reform, California’s experience offers one of the clearest real-world examples of how opening the system can increase participation and force candidates to compete for more voters.

Read the testimony:

Last week, voters in Washington, D.C. voted overwhelmingly to open primary elections to independent voters, while similar ballot initiatives fell short in a half-dozen other states.

05/27/2026

“History remembers who stood with the expansion of democracy, and it remembers who stood against it.”

In powerful testimony before the DC City Council, Open Primaries SVP Jeremy Gruber called on lawmakers to fully implement the voter-approved open primaries measure passed by DC voters in 2024.

More than 85,000 independent voters in the nation’s capital are still shut out of primary elections — despite voters overwhelmingly approving reform at the ballot box.

As Jeremy told the Council: “Voting rights delayed are voting rights denied.”

The testimony lays out why the fight for open primaries is not just administrative or procedural — it’s a voting rights issue and a question of democratic inclusion.

Read the full testimony:
https://openprimaries.org/testimony-of-jeremy-gruber-dc/

Last week, voters in Washington, D.C. voted overwhelmingly to open primary elections to independent voters, while similar ballot initiatives fell short in a half-dozen other states.

05/26/2026

Democracy reform activists in Washington, D.C. are turning up the pressure. 🔥

This week, Grow Democracy DC and organizer Lisa Rice brought dozens of residents to testify before the DC City Council over its failure to implement the open primaries ballot measure approved overwhelmingly by voters in 2024.

In fact, MORE voters showed up to support open primaries at this hearing than attended the original hearing to pass the measure.

More than 85,000 independent voters in the nation’s capital are still locked out of primary elections.

DC voters already made their voices clear at the ballot box. Now activists are demanding the City Council respect the will of the voters and finally implement the reform.

Watch Lisa Rice break it all down in her testimony.

05/25/2026

Maryland Governor Wes Moore recently went on Bill Maher and endorsed open primaries.

Small problem:

Maryland still has a closed primary system — and Governor Moore is currently a named defendant in the Open Primaries lawsuit challenging its constitutionality.

Now the pressure is growing.

Our legal team — including former Maryland Lt. Governor Boyd Rutherford — is calling on the Governor to resolve the lawsuit and finally open Maryland’s primaries to the state’s 1 million independent voters.

That’s 25% of the electorate currently locked out of taxpayer-funded primary elections.

The story is now spreading across media outlets statewide, while activists with Let Us Vote Maryland continue organizing independents to demand representation and access.

Already:
✅ Dozens of independents have testified at hearings
✅ Hundreds have contacted lawmakers
✅ Momentum for reform continues to grow

If Maryland leaders support open primaries publicly, the question now is simple:

Will they act on it?

Read more:
https://www.darslaw.com/news/governor-moores-open-primary-remarks-put-new-focus-on-maryland-closed-primary-lawsuit/

Davis, Agnor, Rapaport & Skalny and Open Primaries Education Fund call on Governor to resolve challenge to taxpayer-funded primary elections that exclude nearly one million Maryland voters Davis, Agnor, Rapaport & Skalny, LLC (“DARS”), in … Read More

05/24/2026

Nearly 380,000 Kentucky voters — most of them independents — are shut out of most primary elections in the state.

That’s nearly 11% of the electorate.

In a new interview with Spectrum News, Open Primaries SVP Jeremy Gruber explains why Kentucky’s system is increasingly out of step with the rest of the country:

“Thirty-four states allow independent voters to participate in the primaries. Kentucky is one of only 16 states with closed primaries.”

Even Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams acknowledged the problem:
“If you’re an independent voter, you’re paying taxes, we shouldn’t disenfranchise you.”

As independent voters become the fastest-growing segment of the electorate nationwide, more states are being forced to confront a basic question:

Should taxpayers who fund elections be locked out of participating in them?

Read the full story:
https://spectrumnews1.com/wi/madison/news/2026/05/15/independent-voters-kentucky-primary

State law requires voters to have been registered as either a Democrat or Republican to vote in the parties’ primaries.

05/23/2026

The movement is growing in New Mexico. 🔥

Early voting is officially underway — and Let Us Vote and Open Primaries are ramping up our first-of-its-kind independent-to-independent voter education campaign.

For the first time ever, New Mexico independents can vote in the primary election — and independents across the state are stepping up to make sure voters know their rights.

This campaign is built by independents, for independents, featuring real New Mexicans speaking directly to voters about why participating in the primary matters.

Because in New Mexico — like many states — the primary is often the election that decides everything.

And we’re not stopping there.

We also partnered with Source NM to expose the fact that 2 out of 3 county clerks were failing to inform independent voters that they could participate in the primary. The story quickly became front-page news across the state.

After more than a decade of organizing, advocacy, and coalition-building, this moment is finally here.

And huge congratulations to Bob Perls — who has spent years fighting to open New Mexico’s primaries — and just voted in a primary election for the very first time.

Watch the new videos. Share them with friends and family in New Mexico. Let’s make history.