Independents Lean into Their Power

In an editorial in The Hill this week, Open Primaries President John Opdycke talks about how independent voters are really starting to flex their muscle politically, provoking responses from political leaders who used to ignore them, and creating lasting change.

He reviews all the progress made just this year, from New Mexico passing open primaries legislation (and Nevada almost matching them!) to the Florida Democratic Party considering allowing independents to vote in the primaries. He notes that no matter where you look these days, leaders from Bill Clinton to Elon Musk, are reacting to the growth of independent voters.  

His advice?

Read on for example after example this week of independents leaning into their power and pressuring status quo politics.

Nebraska:

Dan Osborn, the Nebraska steamfitter, Navy veteran, and proud independent voter whose unexpectedly strong independent US Senate campaign drew national attention in 2024, is running once more against not just a sitting Republican senator but the corruption of billionaire-bought politics. 

Osborn’s name will appear on an independent ballot line in November 2026, opposite that of the wealthy Republican incumbent Pete Ricketts. But in many senses, the real target of the former union leader’s candidacy is the corruption of American democracy that has allowed rich campaign donors to buy influence within both major parties.

A friend of Open Primaries, you can watch OP President John Opdycke’s interview with Dan here. To learn more about Dan’s campaign, click here.

Nevada:

Perhaps nowhere in the country is the rapid growth of independent voters on display more than the Silver State, where a new report from Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar outlines the precipitous drop in membership of both major parties as well as every minor party in the state, while independents dominate voter rolls.  Check out the current numbers:

As you may recall, a recent effort to pass open primary legislation successfully passed both houses of the legislature but was vetoed by the Governor. Undeterred, longtime independents and open primary activists in Nevada are planning on mobilizing substantial support for reform in the state by working to establish a right to vote for independents in the state’s Voter Bill of Rights, which is in the Nevada Constitution. As our friend and Executive Director of Vote Nevada Sondra Cosgrove declared: 

“To protect civil rights in Nevada, every eligible voter must be empowered to participate fully in all publicly financed elections.”

New York:

On Monday night in Harlem, hundreds of New Yorkers showed up to debate whether to open NYC’s closed primaries to 1.1 million independent voters. As we reported, the Charter Revision Commission released an interim report last week in which they outlined a proposal for how a Top Two open primary would make significant and lasting improvements to the city’s political and electoral landscape after independent voters have shown up by the hundreds at hearings demanding the right to vote.

This was the final public hearing in the Charter Revision Commission’s six month process and the auditorium and zoom room were packed and the debate was heated!  The hearing culminates a six month process where the Commission has heard from hundreds of independent New Yorkers making a simple demand to be able to vote in publicly funded primaries. This is the number one issue the Commission received input on.  

The opposition, largely from the progressive left, turned out in force echoing similar talking points without substantive backing.  It can be organized into three categories-unions seeking to maintain privileged status within the Democratic Party, the Working Families Party wanting to ensure a guaranteed ballot line in the general election, and groups wanting to preserve the ascendancy of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party in closed contests.

The most notable spokesperson for the opposition was NYC Comptroller Brad Lander, who was the first to testify and had a very engaged back and forth with the Commission. The Comptroller said, “I don't see an urgent reason to overturn how we've been doing things here for generations.”

Commissioner Savino asked him, “...but what do we say to the 1.1 million and growing number of unaffiliated voters who are deliberately cut out of this process because they don't want to belong to, they don't want to register in a party….What do we say to those people?”

Comptroller Lander responded, saying, “That's how we've done politics in this country for 250 years. It is not perfect, but I don't see why we would change it now.”   

Since when did progressives become so strident about protecting a broken status quo!

Dozens of independent voters and their allies showed up and were a constant presence throughout the 4 ½ hour hearing. 

Dr. Jessie Fields, an Open Primaries Board member and a physician in Harlem declared:

Many independents spoke about the experience of being shut out of the primaries. Torsha Childs from Brooklyn talked about being turned away from the primaries and how agitated she felt. She and her four children considered reregistering, but did not. She urged that:

The hearing has been widely covered. The New York Times wrote pieces here and here.  The Daily News had two editorials this week (here and here) and endorsed the proposal for a Top Two nonpartisan primary.  

The decision now rests with the Commission. They are accepting written public testimony through July 15th and will make a decision on July 21st on whether to let the voters of NYC decide on a change to the primaries to allow independents to vote. Stay tuned!

Washington DC:

Initiative 83 for open primaries and RCV was approved by a supermajority of DC voters in every Ward last November. But a fight is brewing over making sure the DC City Council upholds the will of the voters.  

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser has refused to appropriate funds in her budget to implement Initiative 83. The initiative's pathway to adoption runs through the CIty Council, specifically getting them to amend the budget to include funding for Initiative 83. 

Lisa Rice, the proposer of Initiative 83, the CEO of Grow Democracy DC, a proud independent voter and an Open Primaries National Spokesperson is continuing to lead the effort and her coalition is whipping up votes on the Council. 

They just got a major endorsement this week from the Washington Post Editorial Board, which had this to say:

The Council will vote on funding on July 14, and potentially again on July 28 and Lisa and her coalition do not yet have a majority committed to funding implementation. This is an all hands on deck moment. If you can help them get over the finish line, they need your support. Click here to donate.

Sometimes a single moment can capture why the open primaries movement is busting through status quo politics across the country. Check out Open Primaries activist Sarah Prinsloo as she testifies for open primaries and offers her deeply personal reasons for being an independent voter.

Sarah is one of a growing number of independent Americans that are tired of being on the political sidelines, and are coming out of the shadows and speaking up. Are you one too? Join Open Primaries Let Us Vote campaign. We’re building a community of independent voters across the country to support each other, work together, and fight for the right to vote.

Open Primaries is blessed to have an incredible group of young people-undergraduates at USC-working with us this summer. They will be powering much of our work behind the scenes, so we wanted to make sure you got a chance to get to know them.

Have a great weekend -

The Open Primaries Team