Open Primaries President: Voters Don't Trust Reformers Right Now; We Need to Earn That Trust

A pair of feet standing at two vote signs.
Photo by Phil Scroggs on Unsplash
Published: 06 Feb, 2025
Updated: 18 Jun, 2025
2 min read

The nonprofit reform group Open Primaries hosted its first Primary Buzz Discussion of 2025 last week. But this conversation worked differently as Open Primaries President John Opdycke was the one being interviewed.

Opdycke was interviewed by Chloe Akers, the Founder and CEO of The Best of Tennessee about the state of primary reform, lessons learned in the 2024 elections, and what reformers should focus on going forward.

It wasn't a conversation of minced words. Opdycke was candid in his belief that the reform movement cannot move forward if it doesn't have one critical thing: Trust.

"The American people do not trust us," he said. "I don't think they should. I think we need to earn their trust."

He added that the absence of trust has nothing to do with open primary reform itself. When polled, most voters agree with the principle that every voter should have equal access to all stages of the taxpayer-funded elections process.

"The lack of trust has everything to do with the fact that we live in a country in which every grain of sand has been politicized -- everything is partisan," Opdycke explained.

In other words, the system has created a level of cynicism among voters. When reformers say to people, "We are about changing the system," the immediate reaction is: What's the real agenda? Which side are you really trying to help?

As the editor of IVN -- a role I have held for 13 years -- I have seen this firsthand. IVN is an open platform for independent-minded authors and readers, but the reaction we get to any article we publish is, "who are you really working for?"

IVP Donate

We've been called closet Republicans and closet Democrats. We have been called every political label in the book depending on the perspective we publish, because people have lost trust that nothing is free of partisanship.

ALSO READ: The Independent Voter Network (IVN) - Who "We" Are

This is the consequence of living under a system in which everything has to exist in the context of Team Red vs Team Blue and who ultimately benefits from policy changes and reform -- and everyone is expected to pick a side. 

Reformers like Opdycke know this all too well. He believes the response shouldn't be to skirt these questions because, in his words, this lack of trust is "a sign of how seriously the American people take democracy reform."

Watch the full conversation above.

Related articles

Oklahoma State Capitol Building.
Lawsuit Slams Oklahoma Law as ‘Unconstitutional Sabotage’ of Open Primaries
Two Oklahoma veterans – one a pediatrician, the other a U.S. Coast Guard commander – have filed a legal challenge to SB 1027 in Oklahoma, a law they say unconstitutionally targets their statewide citizen initiative to implement open primaries, State Question 836 (SQ 836)....
08 Jul, 2025
-
5 min read
Crowd in Time Square.
NYC Exit Survey: 96% of Voters Understood Their Ranked Choice Ballots
An exit poll conducted by SurveyUSA on behalf of the nonprofit better elections group FairVote finds that ranked choice voting (RCV) continues to be supported by a vast majority of voters who find it simple, fair, and easy to use. The findings come in the wake of the city’s third use of RCV in its June 2025 primary elections....
01 Jul, 2025
-
6 min read
A man filling out his election ballot.
Oregon Activist Sues over Closed Primaries: 'I Shouldn't Have to Join a Party to Have a Voice'
A new lawsuit filed in Oregon challenges the constitutionality of the state’s closed primary system, which denies the state’s largest registered voting bloc – independent voters – access to taxpayer-funded primary elections. The suit alleges Oregon is denying the voters equal voting rights...
01 Jul, 2025
-
3 min read

Latest articles

Tyson points at Trump with a marijuana leaf behind him.
Mike Tyson Calls Out Donald Trump to Make Good on Cannabis Rescheduling Promise
Mike Tyson, the former heavyweight boxing champion known as “Iron Mike,” is calling on President Donald Trump to make good on a campaign promise to reclassify cannabis under federal law....
11 Jul, 2025
-
2 min read
Football in grass.
Texas, Football, Bobcats, Pac-12, and a Corrections Officer Who Performed a Miracle
Houston Chronicle and Hearst Newspapers Spotlight Kelly Damphousse, a Former Correctional Officer Who Transformed a University....
10 Jul, 2025
-
4 min read
Lorena Gonzalez with teamsters
Lorena Gonzalez, California’s Top Labor Leader, Blasts ‘Anti-Labor Left’ Over Abundance Movement
Lorena Gonzalez, one of California’s most influential labor leaders, entered the fray this week in a growing Democratic debate over the so-called “abundance” movement. ...
09 Jul, 2025
-
2 min read