June 3,2025
Welcome to Let Us Vote — a growing community of independent voters across the United States. Over the last few weeks, thousands of independents have joined the community and I wanted to take a moment to say WELCOME! Independent voters are the largest and fastest growing community of voters in the country! Yet, while we have the numbers, we don’t have the narrative. The press and the parties, the pundits and the politicians basically tell us that we aren’t really independent, we are leaners or closet partisans. Mostly, they just ignore us. So, here at Let Us Vote we are out to change that! First, there are 14 states where independent voters can’t vote in the primaries, where we are second class voters. We are working to change that. Second, we believe that it is time for independents to come together, connect, and learn from each other, and work to demand fair coverage and a full seat at the table at every level of our democratic process.
Our weekly newsletter will share some highlights of how independents are coming together, fighting for full voting rights and telling our story! Glad you are here.
Independently,
Cathy Stewart
Let Us Vote Project Manager
Spotlight on MD, NV, and NY
INDEPENDENTS GO TO COURT IN MARYLAND
Open Primaries Education Fund Challenges Maryland’s Closed Primary System
The Open Primaries Education Fund, in partnership with Davis, Agnor, Rapaport & Skalny, LLC, one of Maryland’s leading law firms, filed a lawsuit in Maryland this week on behalf of five plaintiffs across the state against the Maryland State Board of Elections, challenging the State’s closed primary elections as unconstitutional.
The case is making waves, not only Maryland but the rest of the country with over a dozen publications carrying the story, including features in the Washington Post and The Baltimore Sun.
The Complaint, filed in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County, alleges that the Maryland State Board of Elections is denying Maryland citizens their fundamental right to vote, and seeks to stop the State from funding “closed” primary elections in violation of the Maryland Constitution.
OP Senior VP Jeremy Gruber was quoted in the Washington Post on the timing of the lawsuit:
“It was a perfect storm of individuals, all of whom were dedicated to independent voters and primary reform who just happened to come together at the right moment.”
The five plaintiffs are all independent voters representing Marylanders from across the state of all different backgrounds who share one common belief: every Marylander deserves the right to vote.
“It’s ultimately a question of suffrage,” says former Maryland Lt. Governor Boyd K. Rutherford, our lead counsel. “We are not seeking to require the political parties to allow unaffiliated voters to vote in partisan party primary elections. This action is to prevent the State from funding these primaries that unconstitutionally exclude unaffiliated voters.”
“Nearly a million Maryland voters shut out of voting is a crisis,” Jeremy Gruber, SVP of the Open Primaries Education Fund added in a press release. “Independent voters are the fastest growing group of voters in America, but they are treated as second-class citizens in Maryland and across the country. We cannot continue to publicly fund and administer elections that shut these voters out if we want to continue to call ourselves a democracy.”
Dona Sauerburger (pictured here with a team protesting closed primaries) has worked for ten years to try and win voting rights for independents in MD. She told the Washington Post in talking about her motivation for being a plaintiff on the lawsuit.
Litigation has been a key component of every change movement in America, and we believe the political reform movement should be no different. That’s why the Open Primaries Education Fund has been dedicated to building a litigation platform for many years.
We’ll be keeping you posted as the case progresses. Maryland is just the beginning!
New Bill Introduced in Nevada to Allow Independents the Right to Vote in Primaries
Major development out of Nevada–Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager (D-Las Vegas) has introduced an emergency bill- AB597– which would expand the voting options of the state’s 840,000 nonpartisans who make up the largest voting bloc in Nevada but are left out of participating in most primaries.
“It’s just time to make sure that nonpartisans and non-affiliated voters can vote in partisan elections.”
–Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager
The legislative session ends on June 2nd, but it appears this bill is being fast-tracked by legislative leadership. What’s still not clear is whether the rapidity with which they are moving is an indication that they actually want a new relationship with independents or just want their votes. We shall see! In the short term, nonpartisan voters across the state are reaching out to their legislators.
Last Thursday, the bill was heard in a Joint meeting of the Assembly and Senate Legislative Operations and Elections Committees. Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar spoke in support of the bill stating, “it’s all about access.” Open Primaries Senior VP Jeremy Gruber testified in support as well:
The bill was positively voted out of committee and moved directly to the Assembly floor, where it passed on Friday. The bill is headed to the Senate floor for a similar vote.
All credit goes to Sondra Cosgrove, Doug Goodman, Cesar Marquez and all the Nevada activists who have worked tirelessly to keep the pressure on the legislature and whose underlying message of voter disenfranchisement clearly struck a chord with the state’s political establishment.
Stay tuned. If you live in Nevada, and want to add your voice to the effort to pass AB597, email cstewart@openprimaries.org
What to know what Nevadans think about opening the primaries in the Silver State? Take a look at this video:
NYC Charter Revision Commission Holds Queens Hearing Independent Voters Continue their Lobbying for Primary Reform
Open Primaries and Let Us Vote are continuing to organize independent voters to show up, speak out, and talk with the NYC Charter Revision Commission about the urgent need to open the primaries. The Commission has the power to put a proposal to open the primaries in NYC before the voters this November.
This week independents came out in force in Queens, where many spoke of the humiliating experience of being locked out of the all important first round of voting. Karanjit Paul and Michael Tagariello, two activists from Veterans for All Voters, spoke eloquently about being locked out of elections that they served to protect and shared that 53% of post 9/11 veterans are independents.
The Commission also heard testimony from several national experts, including Paul Johnson, the former Mayor of Phoenix. Paul outlined the different ways candidates campaign in an open primary system (where they talk to ALL voters, not just prime party members of one party) and how that positively impacts on governance.
Chad Peace, Strategic Advisor and Counsel to the Independent Voter Project shared the positive impact Top Two nonpartisan elections has had in CA, including on state legislators’ capacity to govern and the fundamental rights at stake in the consideration of opening the primary.
Raquel Centeno from USC shared important research showing the negative impact of closed primaries on voter participation in the general election, especially in communities of color.
We took to the streets as well – check out what these New Yorkers think about preventing one million independents from participating in the first round of voting! (YouTube / Instagram)
ICYMI-check out the fantastic testimony from Open Primaries activist Sarah Prinsloo at the Brooklyn hearing on May 19th.
The next hearing is in the Bronx on June 10th. If you live in New York City, now is the time to testify. You can see upcoming hearing dates and sign up to participate here.
Hi, Cathy here, project manager of Let Us Vote. I have an idea. I am starting a video conversation every other week with independent voters. I am calling this The Independent Spotlight and I want to invite you to participate.
Here’s the deal. I am sick and tired of independents being ignored, misunderstood (if I hear that we are closet partisans one more time…) and here at Let Us Vote we want to change that narrative.
I believe independents have a lot to say. That we are the pathway forward for America.
We are less driven by partisanship, we are diverse and people need to get to know us!
So, every other week, I am going to spend a half hour with 3-4 independents. I am going to ask you a few questions and then we are going to post these videos all over our website, on social media, and you can share these videos too.
Do you wish more people respected independent voters? Would you like to have a conversation on zoom with me and a couple of other independents?
Sign up here and I will reach out to you and schedule a time for your visit to The Independent Spotlight.
