Photo by Eduardo Ramos on Unsplash

In 2024, a historic number of statewide initiatives appeared on the ballot to open primary elections to all voters and candidates. Most of the initiatives failed, but reformers were successful in Washington DC. 

The nonpartisan group Open Primaries hosted its last virtual discussion of 2024 to recap what happened in the 6 states where nonpartisan primary initiatives failed and why DC saw success.

Put simply, reform leaders understand the need for a robust voter education campaign and a committed ground team that will speak directly to voters and explain why primary reform is needed.

"The critical combo is years of public education, then you run a campaign, followed by years of public education," said John Opdycke, host of the discussion and president of Open Primaries.

The remarks are similar to those made by Andy Moore of the National Association of Nonpartisan Reformers in an interview for IVN.

Getting through to voters can take time because of all the noise in a hyper-connected world. One reason reform not only passed, but passed with an overwhelming majority in DC is the campaign went directly to voters.

"We were very scrappy, and we said we are going to everywhere to everyone," said Lisa Rice, who proposed and spearheaded Initiative 83 in DC.  "There are people who said, 'You know, I have lived in this neighborhood for 30 years. No one has ever knocked on my door.'"

"That was part of our tagline: Make them work hard for your vote."

Here is Open Primaries' description of the conversation:

"In poll after poll, open primaries consistently get 70%+ of the public’s support but translating that support into votes is not automatic. It takes work – a lot of work. Both parties oppose us and they’ve become experts at sowing doubt among voters. Our final Primary Buzz Discussion of the year will be a deep dive into where we are right now as a movement: what’s working? What’s not? How can we effectively grow in 2025 to set us up for success in 2026.

Featuring: Lisa Rice (All Votes Count DC/Yes on 83), Juli Lucky (Alaskans for Better Elections/Vote No on 2), Sarah Smallhouse & Chuck Coughlin (Make Elections Fair AZ/Yes on Prop 140)."

Check out the full discussion above.