NYC Charter Revision Commission Releases Preliminary Report

Independent voters and forward looking New Yorkers spoke out. The Commission listened. Open Primaries is on the Agenda.

As we’ve been reporting, the NYC Charter Revision Commission (which has the power to put initiatives on this November’s ballot) has been holding public meetings across the city for months. And for months, Open Primaries and the Let Us Vote campaign have been bringing out dozens of independents to testify in person and in writing to each one. 

Now the Commission has released its preliminary report, and it has added primary reform to the issues that they are focusing on and will “carefully consider” whether to advance a proposal to the voters in November. 

In the preliminary report, the Commission cites the structure of NYC’s primaries as a cause of low participation in local elections overall. They note that other jurisdictions across the US do not all use a closed system and review the varying forms of open primaries and the potential benefits of an open primary for NYC.

Earlier this week, the NYC Campaign Finance Board released its own report as well, finding that 21% of city voters are unaffiliated and that 49% of those unaffiliated voters are under the age of 40.

The Commission now moves into its final phase of public hearings, and we are going to keep the pressure on. If you’re in NYC and would like to testify in writing or in person, please email Cathy Stewart at [email protected].

NEW NBC NEWS POLL: Young Independents Frustrated with Two-Party System

In a poll after poll, we’re seeing Gen Zers and millennials move further away from the two major parties and partisan politics. A new NBC news poll reveals that not only are Gen Zers and millennials more likely than older generations to identify themselves as independents but they have serious frustrations with how both parties view and engage with independent voters. 

• 65% of Gen Z independents believe neither Democrats nor Republicans fight for people like them
• 78% of Gen Z independents believe the country is on the wrong track.

Though a record-breaking share of independent voters participated in the 2024 presidential general election, many independents still can’t participate in the most meaningful elections in their state-the primaries. 

As CA independent voter, Jack Nagel shared: 

“The deck is stacked against independents, there’s no doubt about that.”

Oklahoma Campaign Leader:“Open Primaries are No Threat to Conservatism, They’re a Return to It.”

ICYMI: The campaign to open Oklahoma’s primaries to all voters (SQ 836) has been gaining serious traction the last few months and now partisan insiders are pushing back.

The state’s Republican Party is asking the Oklahoma Supreme Court to block State Question 836, a proposed ballot initiative that would open up primary elections to all voters, regardless of party affiliation.

Now campaign leader and prominent Oklahoman Republican pollster Pat McFerron is pushing back. In a new piece in the Oklahoman, McFerron lays out how open primaries  is actually rooted - historically and ethically - in the foundational principles of conservatism:

Independent Voters Gain Ground As New Mexico Opens Primaries

As we’ve been reporting, in a major victory for election reform, our coalition has passed an open primary law through the state legislature. Now 350,000 Independent voters in New Mexico have the right to vote in primary elections.  

As OP Senior VP Jeremy Gruber points out in a new op-ed in The Fulcrum the win in New Mexico reflects a shift we’re seeing in communities and states across the country:

Last week, John Opdycke interviewed leaders of the successful campaign to pass open primaries in New Mexico:  What it takes to Win–The Hard Fought Campaign to Open New Mexico’s Primaries. 

It was a great conversation and if you missed it, you can now watch the full discussion here:

It was a great way to celebrate this important victory for the voters of New Mexico, and the open primaries movement!

Open Primaries and others have been working to expand Wyoming’s election system for some time. Unlike almost every other closed primary state, Wyoming closed its primaries recently.

Now, a group of Wyoming voters, former political candidates and a retired lawmaker are challenging several state election laws including its sore loser law and its closed primary law.

The complaint focuses on several provisions of the Wyoming state constitution including its unique “Equal Political Rights” clause as well as several sections that focus specifically on voting rights (The U.S. Constitution has no corollary).

The case mirrors several other challenges (stay tuned for details!) that are being filed in states around the country with a focus on state, rather than federal constitutional provisions. This is turning out to be a robust year for primary reform litigation, and I’ll be briefing you in this column as cases in various states come online.

Have a great weekend,

The Open Primaries Team