Fight To Stop Repeal of Independent Redistricting in CA Heats Up

As we reported recently, Open Primaries has joined a growing list of organizations to form the Voters First Coalition to fight back against CA Governor Gavin Newsom’s effort to repeal the state’s independent redistricting commission that was adopted and continues to be developed by voters in the state. 

Now, a new poll shows how California voters themselves are thinking about the potential for a repeal and it finds they soundly oppose it with nearly two-thirds of voters supporting keeping the Commission.

Former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a longtime opponent of partisan redistricting and the leader of the effort to establish the current Commission, has indicated after meeting with Newsom that he will join the fight against repeal in classic fashion:

Democratic and independent former members of the first California Citizens Redistricting Commission, also testified against repeal this week in Sacramento. During the hearing, incoming Senate President pro Tempore Monique Limon asked them when they personally would act to stop the “decline of democracy.” The commissioners held firm that the independent commission can not be sidelined — and that regardless of their personal opinions on President Trump, sidelining the commission would erode California’s credibility as a model for independent districts and undermine the public’s trust in the political process.

Gov. Newsom is selling his gambit as the only option Democrats have in the gerrymandering war with Trump and Abbott. What a mistake. And a missed opportunity to present the American people with a different vision. No wonder the New York Times is raising the alarm as millions of Americans leave the Democratic Party. 

Also, this may be the beginning of an effort to roll back open primaries in California, part two of the signature reform package of 2010 and 2012. Nancy Pelosi and Kevin McCarthy have been gunning for open primaries since it passed 15 years ago. 

To learn more about the coalition, click here. And if you’re a Californian and want to get involved, email Cathy Stewart, National Organizing Director at [email protected].

David Holt, Republican mayor of Oklahoma City, president of the United States Conference of Mayors, a member of the Osage Nation and a long-time proponent for open and nonpartisan primary systems has an essay out this week in the NY Times crediting his city’s “red state diversity”  to its top two primary elections. As Holt declares:

ICYMI-Check out Mayor Holt’s Forward in our report: The Next Great Migration: The Rise of Independent Voters.

Mayor Holt is also a leading supporter of State Question 836 -a proposal that would institute top two primaries for the Sooner state. Learn more and get involved in the OK campaign here.

New Research Explores How State Election Codes Discriminate Against Independent Voters

The United States is one of the few countries in the western world in which partisans run the election administration system. 

• There is virtually no firewall between electoral competitors and electoral administrators, leaving the voting public at the mercy of shifting partisan currents.

• Rules for how the two major parties-Democratic and Republican-control the participation and administration of our country’s elections are ingrained at every level of each state’s electoral code. 
• Secretaries of State serve parties, not the public. 
• In many states, poll worker positions are limited to party members and are oftentimes appointed by sitting members of the legislature. 
• In even more states, if you are not a registered Republican or Democrat, you are prohibited from serving on the state or local boards of elections as an election judge. 

In a new original research piece in the Journal of Election Administration, OP SVP Jeremy Gruber joins Professor Thom Reilly and Senior Researcher Dan Hunting of the ASU Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy along with Cal State Fullerton’s Karen Reill to examine the electoral codes of all fifty states for policies that restrict independents and minor parties from participating in the U.S. system of election administration. The level of discrimination they find is staggering. Every state-at some level-discriminates against independent voters-by design. Their conclusion:

NYC Debates Campaign Launched, We’re Not Done Yet!

In July, the New York City Charter Revision Commission completed its 2025 term and placed a number of issues on the ballot. However, the CRC declined to advance a proposal to open our primaries to the 1.1 million independent voters in our city. This is despite hearing from hundreds of NYC independents across the city, and receiving more testimony on this issue than any other! 

Now all eyes are on the citywide elections this November when voters will select the next Mayor, Public Advocate and Comptroller. Independent voters are the second largest group of voters in the city, but were not able to vote in the tax payer funded primaries that selected most of the candidates that appear on our November ballot.

The New York City Mayoral Debates are taking place on September 15th and 17th. Eric Adams, Andrew Cuomo, Zohran Mamdani, Curtis Sliwa, and Jim Walden all want your vote.  

Open Primaries and Let Us Vote have launched a campaign to get a question included in the citywide debates. Independents voters want to know where the candidates stand on voting rights for independents.

Here’s our plan. We’re going to flood the debate sponsors with thousands of emails requesting that they ask the candidates a question like this: 

 “do you think New York’s one million independent voters should have full voting rights, and if so, what’s your plan to make that happen?”

If you live in NYC, you can send a letter to the debate sponsors here. After you sign, ask all your friends and family to also sign. Share the letter on social media.  We need to FLOOD the inboxes at NY1, WNBC and PIX 11 before Labor Day with hundreds and hundreds of emails.

Send An Email Today!

If you want to get involved in the campaign, please email Cathy Stewart at [email protected]

In an editorial in The Hill, 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?

Our new Spokesperson Training Program is now holding an open application process for its next session in October. Held on Zoom, the program offers independents and reform-minded citizens a creative space to develop your skills and share with others why you have chosen to be independent.

The training has attracted hundreds of participants, including many leaders in the open primaries movement. Participants will be presented with an overview of who independents are across the country, learn key talking points to dispel commonly held myths about who we are, have a Q&A session with independent leader Jackie Salit, and get performance training from top-notch professional trainers.

 If you're interested in applying for the upcoming session, which will be Tuesday October 28th at 6:30pm ET, Apply here or email Gwen Mandell, Open Primaries’ Director of Leadership Development at [email protected] for more information.

Have a great weekend

The Open Primaries Team