"We Can't Afford It" Is Never An Acceptable Excuse to Deny Independents A Vote
Shawn GriffithsWASHINGTON, D.C. - Lisa D.T. Rice spoke before the DC City Council during a Budget Oversight Hearing on May 1 to talk about Initiative 83, the semi-open primary and ranked choice voting measure she proposed that was approved by 73% of voters in 2024.
Two years later, as DC residents prepare to vote in the 2026 primaries, 85,000 independent voters are still locked out of these taxpayer-funded elections because the city council decided the will of the people didn’t matter.
A semi-open primary would allow registered independents the opportunity to pick a Republican or Democratic ballot while registered party members would have to vote in their respective party’s primary.
Instead, the Democratic majority voted only to fund ranked choice voting. DC voters took note of this slight against their vote, as did major news publications like The Washington Post, which continues to criticize council members.
Just check out the opinion piece where the Post’s editorial board asks, “Why are DC Dems afraid of independent voters?”
Shawn Griffiths
“When I became an independent, I didn’t realize I would be disenfranchised,” said Rice. Our friends at Open Primaries posted her testimony on YouTube (see above).
“Nowhere in the Constitution does it say that to exercise the sacred right to vote, you must belong to a political party. The Republican and Democratic Parties didn’t even exist at the founding of our nation, and yet they have made a fundamental American right contingent on joining one of these private clubs.”
One of the main excuses the council has made for not funding open primaries is the cost. Rice explained that it would cost $1 million to implement a semi-open primary, most of which would go toward paper (i.e. mailers, ballots, and voter registration cards).
For context, $1 million represents not even a percent of the city’s multi-billion-dollar budget.
“We would not tell people with disabilities that it is too expensive for them to vote,” Rice remarked. “We would not accept it if someone told us they could not afford enough ballots for black voters, and we should not accept that excuse for Initiative 83.”
She added that the irony is not lost on her that while Democratic leaders across the country decry the Supreme Court’s recent decision to limit section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, DC Democrats are “fighting tooth and nail” to keep her from voting.
Rice closed out her testimony challenging members of the Council to stand by their words when they say they will defend DC voters and their right to vote. “Which is it? Are the outcomes of our local elections sacred and worthy of respect from elected officials – or not?”
Check out her full testimony above.
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