Step Forward in New Mexico – State Senate Rules Committee Passes Open Primaries Bill

A report from Cesar Marquez, National Organizer for Open Primaries. who is on the ground in NM supporting the campaign: 

On Wednesday, the New Mexico State Senate Rules Committee held a hearing on SB16, a bill to create semi-open primaries. Sen. Figueroa, one of the bill sponsors, opened the hearing and talked about New Mexico’s changing electorate–with over 340,000 independent voters who are independents, it’s time the legislature update the primary process to keep those voters involved. 

Secretary of State Maggie Toulousse Oliver spoke to her office’s support for the bill and said in arguing for allowing independents the right to vote in the primaries: “what we know is that participation begets participation.” 

Proponents speaking in favor of the legislation included spokespeople from the Veteran and Military Families Caucus; University of New Mexico College Democrats; Conservation Voters of New Mexico; Common Cause; NM Native Vote; Lutheran Advocacy Ministries; and the New Mexico Asian Family Center.

The bill passed the senate hearing in the rules committee 6-3 with bipartisan support. 

Sila Avcil, Executive Director of New Mexico Open Elections commented:

“The significance of today’s hearing is that this is a group effort, this is a coalitional effort of diverse organizations and government entities including the Secretary of State’s office. We feel confident about this hearing because the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee wants to get this bill passed this year.”

As our coalition works to pass open primaries in the New Mexico legislature, one of the challenges we face is that many New Mexicans do not know who independent voters are.

Let Us Vote New Mexico, a project of Open Primaries, has been working to change that by organizing independent voters across the state to speak out and get involved. Our Independents Speak Out Series is sharing the stories of many of the 330,000 plus New Mexico independents who would be enfranchised by open primaries

Today we are introducing you to two more of those independents:

If you’re in New Mexico or have friends or family there–get involved today! 

Both Parties Go After Open Primaries at the State Level

INDIANA:

Republicans in Indiana have introduced a new bill in the Senate (SB 201) which would force voters to register with a major political party 4 months ahead of the primary election in order  to participate. 

The bill has already passed out of committee and is heading to the full Senate for a vote. We’ll keep you posted. 

TENNESSEE:

For a fourth year in a row Republicans in the Tennessee Legislature have introduced legislation aimed at intimidating and forcing voters to register into a party. Two bills-SB831 and HB 1159-have been assigned to committees where we expect to see hearings in the coming weeks.

The Chattanooga Free Press shares our sentiments: leave laws that are working well and let ALL Tennessee voters vote: 

WASHINGTON DC:

The DC Appeals Court has revived the DC Democratic Party’s effort to kill the already approved Initiative 83 that opened up DC’s primaries to 75,000 independent voters

It received an overwhelming amount of support from DC voters in November–Over 200,000 voters (73% ) said YES. 

Our friends in DC remain committed to defending I-83, arguing that it “expands electoral participation and modernizes D.C.’s voting system to better reflect voter preferences.”

Stay tuned.

Open Primaries Campaign Launches in NYC

In New York City, the only election that matters is the Democratic Party primary. But New York City holds closed partisan primaries that ban 1 in 4 New Yorkers who are independent from participating.That’s a million independent voters-more than twice the number of Republican voters.  

A new campaign, NYC Open Primaries, hopes to change that by putting a measure on the ballot in the near future.

 It’s time we bring Independent New Yorkers into the process. If you’re in New York City, learn more about the campaign and get involved HERE.

Register for Our Next Primary Buzz Discussion 

What does it mean to be an independent entertainer in the age of political fragmentation? 

Republicans and Democrats have their entertainment sources–catering to their partisan bases. 

But what about the 50% of Americans who are opting out? As the divide deepens and more Americans leave the parties is there actually an opening for political comedy that unites people instead of reinforcing division? 

On Thursday February 27th at 3pm ET Open Primaries President John Opdycke will sit down with comedian, author and political satirist Andrew Heaton for a topical, spicy and hopefully fun conversation on whether it’s possible to bridge the divides in comedy right now and find meaningful commonalities. 

It’s gonna be a fun(ny) one. Register today!

League of Women Voters of Kentucky Host League Day at the KY Capitol with focus on “LET US VOTE!”

On Tuesday February 18th the LWV KY will host its annual League Day at the Kentucky Capitol but this year it will be centered on letting more Kentucky voters vote. 

Speaker Sarah Jane Higginbotham, an electoral reform advocate, will speak on the topic of Open Primaries and there will be virtual and in-person opportunities to meet with legislators with a focus on open primaries and voting rights restoration.  

Click here for full event details and to register. 

Have a great weekend,

The Open Primaries Team