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# Independent Voters in Arizona Are Tired of Being Treated Like Second-Class Citizens
- URL: https://ivn.us/independent-voters-in-arizona-are-tired-of-being-treated-like-second-class-citizens/
- Published: 2016-02-29T23:27:17.000Z
- Updated: 2026-06-22T19:52:17.000Z
- Author: Athena Gavranian
- Tags: News

NPR recently reported nationally on an interview between public radio reporter Jude Joffe-Block and campaign directors of two nonpartisan organizations on the state of elections in Arizona. Joffe-Block spoke with **Patrick McWhorter** of [Open Primaries](http://www.openprimaries.org/?ref=ivn.us) and **Timothy Castro** of Independents for Arizona, who argue that independent voters are not being treated fairly.

“Independent voters, now 37 percent of all Arizona registered voters, are treated like second-class citizens,” argued McWhorter.

Arizona conducts a closed primary for its presidential elections, which means that participation is conditioned on being a registered member of a political party. Voters who do not register with a party at least 29 days before election day are not allowed to vote for which primary candidate they prefer.

In other words, over a million voters in Arizona are denied access to the first stage of the presidential election process.

Castro argued that such exclusion from a presidential primary was simply unfair and implied that this type of voting system was not American.

The legislature is [currently considering a bill](http://knau.org/post/az-lawmakers-want-stop-funding-presidential-primaries?ref=ivn.us#stream/0) that would make political parties pay for presidential primaries instead of taxpayers. It is estimated that presidential preference elections (primaries) cost about $10 million and the legislature cut $6 million from the primary election fund in 2015.

Arizona Secretary of State Michele Reagan has voiced her support for [ending taxpayer-funded primaries](http://truthinmedia.com/ariz-sec-state-calls-end-taxpayer-funded-presidential-primaries/?ref=ivn.us) for private political parties.

## Read the full transcript of the interview [here](http://www.npr.org/2016/02/24/467914363/arizona-s-independent-voters-claim-they-re-treated-like-second-class-citizens?ref=ivn.us).