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South Dakota Open Primaries <[link removed]> Hits its Goal and Submits 47,000 Signatures <[link removed]> to Get Nonpartisan Primary Reform on the Ballot! 

The campaign to enact top two nonpartisan primaries and enfranchise 1 in 4 South Dakotans currently shut out has officially submitted the necessary signatures to the Secretary of State. The SOS office has until August 13th to validate the Amendment for the November ballot. 

This is big news. One week ago Idahoans for Open Primaries <[link removed]> submitted their signatures <[link removed]> and now South Dakota has joined the roster of open primaries campaigns headed towards the 2024 ballot. 

De Knudson, a campaign leader said: “I am appreciative of how many people have stepped forward to get signatures on petitions. This issue really resonates with a lot of people, especially independent minded South Dakotans.”

Congratulations to everyone who made this happen–we’re excited to help keep moving this campaign forward and past the finish line in November. 



ARIZONA: Two prominent Arizona Veterans: Lt. Col. John Webster who served in the U.S. Air Force for 20 years and Former Lt. Col. TJ Lindberg who served in the U.S. Army from 1995 to 2015, including tours in Iraq and Afghanistan penned an op-ed this week <[link removed]> in AZ Central coming out in support for Make Elections Fair AZ campaign <[link removed]> to open Arizona’s primaries to all Arizonans. As they point out, AZ should stop punishing voters for being independent and finally treat all voters–especially our veterans who fight for this country equally: 

“With a combined 40 years of military service, we stand alongside many other brave Americans devoted to upholding the principles of freedom and fairness. Beyond a history of service and love of country, as many as 6 in 10 veterans proudly call ourselves independent voters.” 



They call on other Arizonans to join the campaign and help make an open and fair election system a reality for Arizona.  

TENNESSEE: A new lawsuit in Tennessee that challenges two state laws that require primary voters to be “bona fide” party members or to “declare allegiance” to the party they are voting for is gaining serious national attention <[link removed]>. As ABC News points out: Tennessee has open primaries and voters do not register by party, so any move to intimidate voters and require Tennesseans to be “bona fide” party members is 100% a move by partisan insiders to scare voters out of participating.

TEXAS: The Texas GOP is looking at options to close the primaries <[link removed]> and shut more voters out after a primary question the party put on the primary ballot garnered majority Republican-voter support. 



Not Democrats, not Republicans. Who are Florida’s independent voters?

There’s a great new piece <[link removed]> out from the Tampa Bay Times on Florida’s changing electorate that really digs into the wide spectrum of people who are becoming independent in the Sunshine state. 

In recent years, both the Democratic and Republican parties of Florida have lost voters–with over 4 million Floridians registering independent. According to a Tampa Bay Times analysis of over 1 million voters in the state who have shifted their affiliation since 2020: 

“Younger people, women and Hispanic voters have led the way in the past four years in trading in the Republican and Democratic parties for no-party status." 





The article features a number of independent voters each with their own reason for leaving the major parties–including Haley Osborn of Ormond Beach, Florida (a former Democrat, turned independent): “I feel neither party is truly interested in fixing our society’s problems. Rather, they are interested in maintaining power.”

Florida Open Primaries <[link removed]> is working to capitalize on many of the developing conversations. Hopefully, more soon to report there.



The Let Us Vote <[link removed]> campaign to build and empower a grassroots movement of Independent voters all across the country continues to grow rapidly. We now have 7,796 supporters and over 250 people have shared their story with us. 

In this week’s citizen spotlight, independent voter David Cherry shares how he feels like independents are not treated like real Americans: 

<[link removed]>Read the full update HERE <[link removed]>–if you’re an independent we encourage you to take the next step and get involved with the campaign in one or more ways below: 

- We're always looking for more stories. If you’re an independent and haven't yet, share your story here. <[link removed]>Video is better than written, but the choice is yours.
- We're looking for local leaders across the country. If you have 2-3 hours to spare on a weekly basis, we'd love your help. Click here to let us know you're interested <[link removed]>and we’ll drop you a line.
- If you support what we're doing at LetUsVote, please know that any contribution - big or small helps us keep up the work of building <[link removed]> a unique and totally new community for independent voters. It would mean the world if you can contribute.





ICYMI: This week Open Primaries Founder and President John Opdycke spoke with  longtime Independent movement leader, Jackie Salit who has been organizing independent voters and political challenges to the binary status quo for 40 years to discuss the largest and fastest-growing segment of the electorate across the country: Independents.

The two shook loose old narratives and explored why independents cause so much heartburn among the DC crowd.

It was a timely discussion and we encourage you to watch it and share it with your network:

<[link removed]>WATCH <[link removed]> <[link removed]> <[link removed]> <[link removed]> <[link removed]> <[link removed]>Open Primaries · 244 Madison Ave, #1106, New York, NY 10016, United States
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