May 27, 2025

What do NYC, PA and FL have in Common?
Closed Primaries and Independents Demanding Change

Independent Pennsylvanians Come Out in Force on Primary Day

Tuesday, May 20th was Primary Day in Philadelphia — a CLOSED PRIMARY DAY that banned 140,000 independent voters from participating. There are 1.4 million independents across the state of Pennsylvania who are locked out of the primaries.

Independents took to the streets to protest this unAmerican exclusion from voting.  Open Primaries SVP Jeremy Gruber and Director of National Organizing Cathy Stewart joined BallotPA, Independent Pennsylvanians , PA Veterans for All Voters, and all our fellow independent voters on the ground. We visited poll sites and talked with voters who wanted to know WHY?

Leaders of the local effort to repeal closed primaries — BallotPA Chair David Thornburgh, Independent Pennsylvanians Founder Jennifer Bullock, Students for BallotPA Chair Harry Hou and PA Veterans for All Voters leader Dennis Miller were all over the news on primary day. Check out all four interviews by BllyPenn on why this issue is so critical and Jenn Bullock’s interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Have Florida Democrats Seen the Light on Open Primaries?

In a stunning reversal of Party position, Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried confirmed last week that her party is seriously considering opening their primaries to no-party-affiliation voters (NPA).

In 2020, when open primaries were on the ballot in Florida, Democratic party leadership did everything they could to kill it and prevent NPA voters from gaining full voting rights.

In a new headline piece in the Orlando Sentinel, Open Primaries President John Opdycke and SVP Jeremy Gruber take us through the DP’s history on granting independent voters primary voting rights. They also offer independent advice for how the DP can assure NPA voters that they’re actually interested in embracing them:

You can read the full piece here. 

Choice Edwards, an NPA voter from Clermont added his perspective in a Letter to the Editor in the Orlando Sentinel entitled Make it ‘the people’s primary’. He writes:

You can read his full letter here.

Independents Line up to Testify Before NYC Charter Revision Commission 

Demand Commission move Forward with Initiative to Open the Primaries

This week, the New York City Charter Revision Commission held its first meeting since the release of their preliminary report where they added primary reform to their list of priorities for consideration.

Independent voters showed up in force at the hearing at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn to testify. The overwhelming issue on the table? Reforming the closed primary system to allow the city’s 1.1 million independent voters the right to vote in the primaries. The Commission is listening and feeling a sense of urgency to address this voting rights issue.

Open Primaries Board members David Belmont and Dr. Jessie Fields joined local leaders including Assemblymember Robert Carroll, the Chair of Citizen’s Union and former CNN anchor John Avlon and Randy Peers, the President and CEO of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, to offer testimony in support.

Here are some highlights:

Give a listen to Sarah Prinsloo as she shares with the Commission the impact of being turned away from the polls.

If you live in NYC and have not yet testified before the Charter Revision Commission to urge them to open the primaries to independents, please reach cstewart@openprimaries.org to find out the upcoming hearing dates and how you can make your voice heard!

In a 2024 survey of independents in the closed primary states, Change Research revealed:

If you would like to see the full Change Research Report, email cstewart@openprimaries.org for a copy.

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.