Virtual Discussion: Can One of the Nation's Biggest Political Battlegrounds Lead the Way on Pro-Voter Reform?

az
Arizona Department of Transportation on Flickr
Published: 14 Dec, 2023
Updated: 19 Jan, 2024
2 min read

Photo Credit: Arizona Department of Transportation / Flickr

 

Any substantial change to how US voters elect their representatives must start from a fundamental principle. For former Phoenix Mayor Paul Johnson this fundamental principle is that all voters should have an equal and meaningful voice in the electoral process. 

In Open Primaries' latest virtual discussion, OP President John Opdycke sat down with Johnson to discuss a coalition he, Chuck Coughlin, and Sara Smallhouse worked on for several years to create: Save Democracy AZ.

Johnson explains that the coalition started as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit called Save Democracy. The group did extensive research into different ways elections could better serve Arizona voters by looking at different reform models all over the country.

What Johnson and the others concluded was that any change to elections to make them better, more accountable, and less divisive had to begin with primaries. All voters need a voice in the primaries, and all candidates should be given an opportunity to participate.

Save Democracy AZ proposes an initiative that would open primary elections to independent voters, who make up approximately a third of the electorate in Arizona, in state, federal, and presidential elections all at the same time.

But the approach for state and federal elections is a bit different from the presidential election.

IVP Donate

For state and federal elections, the initiative requires a nonpartisan primary system in which all voters and candidates participate on a single ballot. It would then be up to the legislature to decide if this nonpartisan system is top-two, top-four, top-five, etc.

For presidential primaries, since Arizona rightfully calls these elections preference elections, the initiative requires the major parties to allow independent voters to participate. If they don't, then taxpayers will not foot the bill for the elections. The cost will fall on the parties. 

"Today, the unaffiliated voter and the independent voter are forced to subsidize the presidential primaries, but yet they can't participate in them in any meaningful way," said Johnson. "The answer is if you want taxpayer money then you simply have to be open to independent and unaffiliated voters to participate."

It is a comprehensive approach to provide fairer primary elections that voters do not often see. Opdycke and Johnson dive deep into the initiative and the fundamental issues at hand in their conversation. Watch the full discussion above. 

Related articles

Judge about to slower gavel.
Believe It or Not, There Is Still a 2024 Election That Hasn't Been Called
It may be hard to believe, but as of April 2025, there is still one election in the US from the last election cycle that has not been called: the 2024 North Carolina Supreme Court election between incumbent Democrat Justice Allison Riggs and Republican challenger Jefferson Griffin....
09 Apr, 2025
-
3 min read
businessman holding his hands to his face.
New Poll: Half of US Voters Say They Voted For 'Lesser of Two Evils' in 2024
Citizen Data polled US voters following the 2024 elections and found that nearly half (47%) said they cast their ballot, not for the candidate they supported the most, but for the candidate they determined was the 'lesser of two evils.'...
09 Dec, 2024
-
2 min read
Andrew Yang
Andrew Yang: Democrats Have Only Themselves to Blame
Former presidential candidate and Forward Party Founder Andrew Yang says that if Democratic leaders are looking for someone to blame for their 2024 loss, they need to take a hard look in the mirror....
11 Nov, 2024
-
2 min read

Latest articles

Elon Musk in front of the US Capitol Building.
7 Things Elon Musk Needs to Do If the America Party Wants to Be More Than a Meme
The World’s Richest Man Will Have to Overcome America’s Toughest Political Obstacles — Here’s What It Will Take to Make His America Party Thrive...
08 Jul, 2025
-
4 min read
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
Elon Musk
Musk vs The Duopoly: Will the America Party Succeed Where Others Have Failed?
Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and X, and former Director of the Department of Government Efficiency, has officially launched the America Party, framing it as a challenge to what he calls a “one-party system” dominated by wasteful government spending....
07 Jul, 2025
-
5 min read