Arizona Innovates

In a timely new piece out in The Hill, OP Founder & President John Opdycke and Senior VP Jeremy Gruber highlight what we’re seeing in Arizona and the very real opportunity the state has to play in impacting national politics this November.

The big takeaways: 

• Independent voters are now tied with Republicans as the largest bloc of voters in the state. 
• A diverse group of Arizona citizens, with largely local funding, has founded Make Elections Fair AZ to empower independents and revitalize the state’s political culture.
• Arizona is the first state to propose a combination of nonpartisan primaries for state and federal races with open primaries for presidential contests. 
• With independents surging nationwide, Arizona could serve as a significant game changer for the entire country. 
• The campaign’s close to turning in the requisite signatures to place a first-of-its-kind referendum on the ballot this November–read the full plan here. 

Action request:  Read and share the full piece with everyone you know in Arizona. 

Friday June 21st 2024: Who are America’s Independent Voters? 

There will be a special Primary Buzz conversation hosted by Unite America, Open Primaries and Arizona State University’s Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy on Friday June 21st at 2:00PM ET featuring John Opdycke (Open Primaries), Tyler Fisher (Unite America), Sumati Thomas (Change Research) and Thom Reilly (ASU) 

More and more Americans — 43% —  identify as independent voters. This year alone, over 23.5 million independent voters across 22 states have been disenfranchised by closed primaries.  But who are independents? 

The panel will discuss the following groundbreaking research on the topic:

1. Unite America: Not Invited to the Party Primary: Independent Voters and the Problem with Closed Primaries
2. ASU: The Fluid Voter–Exploring Independent Voter Patterns Over Time
3. Open Primaries: The Next Great Migration–The Rise of Independent Voters

Bring your questions for the Q & A. REGISTER TODAY

COLORADO: The Colorado Supreme Court recently ruled that Colorado Voters First proposed ballot measure for Top 4 primaries with RCV can move forward to the signature gathering process but a last-minute amendment by state lawmakers was just signed by the Governor and could potentially threaten the initiative’s progress. 

Colorado Voters First is hosting a signature gathering campaign kickoff this Monday in Denver. If you’re in the greater Denver area-check it out.

Monday June 10th, 2024: Elections Belong to Voters – Not Political Parties:

NEW MEXICO: Over 300,000 New Mexican voters are currently shut out of the state’s partisan closed primaries. But as OP National Organizer and New Mexico Open Elections ED Sila Avcil points out in a new op-ed in the Santa Fe New Mexican, the support is there to change things: County clerks across the state have weighed in, the Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver has come out in support, 83% of New Mexicans recently polled, local grassroot organizations and many leaders within the legislature are now on board. 

New Mexico Open Elections is throwing its first in-person Strengthening Democracy Town Hall and Un-Primary Party next week on Thursday June 13th at 5:30PM at Hollow Spirits in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

If you’re in the Albuquerque area we highly encourage you to join the party:

SOUTH DAKOTA: Only 17% of South Dakotans voted in this past Tuesday’s primary elections. One reason that number is so low? Closed primaries shut out 150,000 voters. South Dakota Open Primaries estimate open primaries in SD could mean 50,000 more voters showing up on primary day! This November, voters will have a chance to make that happen with a top-two open primary already qualified for the ballot.

TEXAS: Partisans are using House Speaker Dade Phelan’s recent razor-thin win over his extremely right-wing challenger as an example of why the GOP needs to close the primaries. OP Senior VP Jeremy Gruber was interviewed by The Houston Chronicle on the GOP’s call to close primaries: “The irony, of course, is that the parties claim the primaries are theirs, that they’re ‘their’ nominating contests, but primaries were created because of the corruption of the party leadership in the first place. You should be able to vote for who you want in every election. That’s what democracy is. And that’s what open primaries are.”

WASHINGTON DC:  Make All Votes Count DC is collecting signatures to bring open primaries and ranked choice voting to DC and enfranchise the 17% of DC voters currently barred from voting–the campaign was out all over DC this week to raise awareness during Tuesday’s primary election. Campaign Leader & OP spokesperson Lisa Rice got a special shout out from The Washington Post this week  for her work  to make D.C. elections fair and inclusive.

With the Arizona campaign gaining momentum, Let Us Vote traveled to Phoenix this week to interview independent voters & campaign leaders. 

The shoot brought together grassroots leaders from three states, as OP National Organizers Sila Avcil (New Mexico Open Elections) and Cesar Marquez (Forward Party NV)  interviewed Make Elections Fair AZ spokespeople Sarah Smallhouse, Paul Johnson (former Mayor of Phoenix), Attorney and Political Activist Danny Ortega, City of Mesa Mayor John Giles and dozens of other activists and supporters working to enfranchise every Arizonan voter. 

An inspiring trip capturing many of the unique and powerful voices shaping this exciting campaign. We can’t wait to share the footage with you very soon. In the meantime, subscribe to Let Us Vote’s youtube channel to make sure you catch all the powerful interviews we’ve been having with independent voters across America. 

Have a good weekend,

The Open Primaries Team