Ohio Republicans Revive Push for Closed Primaries

Republican leaders in the Ohio Legislature are joining party insiders in states across the South and are bringing back legislation to try and close primary elections in the Buckeye state. It’s a complicated process because Ohio is one of twenty US states that does not have party registration. All voters, regardless of how they identify politically, choose a party ballot. House Bill 320 would require voters to register as a Democrat or Republican 90 days before a primary election to participate.

The Ohio LWV is leading opposition to the measure. Their testimony against similar legislation last session is a MUST READ. As Nazek Hapasha, Policy Affairs Manager of the Ohio League of Women Voters, declared in that testimony:

Speaking of gerrymandering, across the democracy reform movement a growing debate has emerged over how reformers should respond to the escalating gerrymandering battles unfolding in states like Texas, California, and beyond. 

Last week, a convening of reformers called Fixus, of which Open Primaries participates, broke out into a provocative discussion thread featuring academics and practitioners offering a wide spectrum of views on this contentious issue.

Now, the Fulcrum has brought some of those discussions together in a one published piece, including musings from OP SVP Jeremy Gruber on the subject. As he reflects:

Check out the full discussion and tell us what you think at [email protected].

Independents are the largest and fastest growing group of voters in the country. Check out this in depth analysis just this week out of Colorado, finding voter registration with both major parties declining while the roles of independents soar.

But did you also know that includes growing numbers of voters of color?

Open Primaries new fact sheet breaks down the remarkable statistics:

It makes you wonder, why isn’t the civil rights community more involved on this issue? OP SVP Jeremy Gruber asks that same question in a provocative piece called “Opening Up Primary Elections is a Voting Rights Issue.”

Our Primary Buzz discussion series returns with a bang this month as Iowa Gubernatorial Candidate Rob Sand joins us.

Sand is running for Governor of Iowa as a Democrat. But he isn’t following the Democratic Party rule book: “I reject pretty much all labels, including the word moderate. I’m pretty issue-based and I’m independent-minded. I think what we need to do is actually end the system of ‘the lesser of two evils.’ It’s not necessarily so all the answers belong to any one place, it’s just to actually free people up.” 

Sand says he’s building his campaign around the simple notion that Iowans of all walks of life have more in common than the partisans who wake up every morning with new ideas about how to divide us. Polls are showing a competitive match-up, and he is turning heads well beyond the Hawkeye state. See national coverage in the NY Times, Wall St Journal and The Atlantic.

On Thursday September 25th at 1:30pm ET, Open Primaries President John Opdycke will talk with Rob about how he’s building a new kind of political campaign, his longtime support for open primaries and political reform, and why an “independent attitude” is crucial to moving the country forward.  

REGISTER TODAY.

Have a great weekend

The Open Primaries Team