112 House Members Vote to Repeal Closed Primaries in PA

On Monday, a strong bipartisan majority of the state House of Representatives – for the first time ever – voted in favor of a measure that would repeal closed primaries in Pennsylvania.

During debate on the House floor, the chamber voted 112-90 on an amendment (A.6002) offered by state Rep. Jared Solomon to finally end an 87-year-old ban and allow independent voters to vote for candidates in primary elections.

That’s a huge step forward!

If you’re a PA voter, our friends at Ballot PA are asking you to click here to send a note of thanks to the Representatives who voted “Yes” on the amendment.

Yet the fight continues — while the chamber approved the amendment, the bill itself is still awaiting final passage by the House. Legislative leaders must keep advancing the bill to get it to the Senate, which previously voted 42-8, with strong bipartisan support, to pass a similar proposal in 2019.

Big congrats to Ballot PA for their work over several years to make this possible–let’s celebrate this first-of-its-kind win, even as we continue the fight to see the legislation pass both chambers, head to the Governor’s desk, and be signed into law!

National Rally Brings Together Hundreds of Open Primaries Supporters to Pass Widespread Reforms in 2024

This past Monday was a historic day for the open primaries movement–hundreds of voters gathered to not only celebrate a historic year in nonpartisan election reform, but also show their support for eight open primaries campaigns on the ballot this year

The event was hosted by OP founder and President John Opdycke and Forward Party co-founder Andrew Yang and co-sponsored by Unite America, Forward Party, Independent Voting, Independent Voting Network, Veterans for All Voters, Independent Veterans of America and The Electoral Innovation Lab.

“This – to me – is the path to genuine freedom in America,” declared Andrew Yang at the rally and we agree! 

Video recap: 

Share it with your network and call friends/family you have in any of the states (or Washington DC) where open primaries are on the ballot and make sure they know what’s at stake this year. 

Also, we encourage you to check out our “history of open primaries and how we got to 2024” video that captures the arc of work over many years to get to this point.

ALASKA: The largest newspaper in Alaska has officially endorsed the No on 2 campaign to keep Alaska’s elections in the hands of Alaska’s voters instead of the parties: 

“Under the old system, Alaska paid for the closed partisan primaries with public money, but the political parties were the ones who benefited. Why would we want to return to that? This election, cast a no vote on Ballot Measure 2 and keep political power in Alaska where it belongs — with the voters.”

The campaign needs volunteers to phonebank in the final stretch–you can sign up HERE.

ARIZONA: Business leaders have come together in Arizona to advocate for Prop 140 and say: Arizona's political system is broken—it's anti-free market and stifles competition. Candidates aren't fighting for votes, leaving real issues unaddressed. These leaders agree: Prop 140 will hold candidates accountable to ALL Arizonans, not just the extremes. Watch the video here:

COLORADO: Two former Colorado Secretaries of State Mike Coffman & Bernie Buescher have come together and written a bipartisan endorsement of Prop 131 to open the primaries to all Coloradans in a new piece titled: It’s time for something better. 

‘The proposed reforms will not only open the entire election process to more voters, but they will also open it to more candidates’

FLORIDA: Bill Cotterell, a retired Capitol reporter for United Press International, and the Tallahassee Democrat has come out against Florida’s Amendment 1 which would make school board elections partisan: 

“The immediate impact of having school board members run in primaries, identified by party, would be to disenfranchise about 30% of the voters who register with no party affiliation. Those NPAs have kids in the schools and pay property taxes to support education, but Florida has closed primaries so they would be excluded from the crucial first round, when most races are essentially decided.”

IDAHO: More and more Idahoans are speaking out in support of Prop 1 and opening Idaho’s primaries to all voters. Idahoans like Marv Hagedorn, a retired Navy Chief Warrant Officer who served in the Idaho Legislature for 12 years and admits that he was wrong about supporting closed primaries in the past:

Read two other letters we saw this week from supporters in Post Falls and Sandpoint. 

Members of BabeVote, an organization dedicated to engaging and inspiring young voters, penned a fantastic op-ed in the Idaho Statesman on how Prop 1 will finally give young voters a real voice in Idaho:

“We are the stakeholders. The current system doesn’t reflect that. We deserve to have power in elections and a say in what the future of our state looks like. So this November, let’s do what young people do best; let’s change this system for the better.”

Finally, if you’re able to help–sign up HERE  to phonebank from your own home to help boost this campaign in the final 10 days! 

MONTANA: PBS Newshour has come out with a great new piece covering the open primaries campaign in Montana. Watch it HERE.  Also, check out this new letter to the editor from Judith Heilman in Bozeman in support of the Yes on 126 campaign: 

"Having candidates work harder to get their message across is good for democracy. Having voters do a little more homework to understand what a candidate stands for rather than what the party stands for is good for democracy. It’s time to reject party politics and take back control of our democracy by voting yes on CI-126."

If you’re in Montana, sign up to phone bank and join some tabling opportunities HERE!

NEVADA: Reminder: In 2022, Nevadans passed Question 3 (Open Primaries/RCV) but it must pass again this year in order to become the law in 2026. Check out Fox News 5 out of Las Vegas recent coverage of Question 3 and sign up to support the campaign here. 

WASHINGTON DC:

The campaign is looking for volunteers to make calls to independents and DC residents to call fellow voters, hand out flyers, knock on doors, etc–sign up here!

OKLAHOMA: As we reported last week, the momentum on the ground to reform Oklahoma’s elections continues to build. This week Ken Cox, a local lawyer, penned a fantastic op-ed in Tulsa World on how a unified primary in Oklahoma could end polarization and toxicity in OK politics:

Read the full op-ed here.

Have a great weekend,

The Open Primaries Team