Political insiders from both parties largely reject the claim that independent voters would sabotage primaries if allowed to participate, and some say open primaries produce stronger candidates.
One question is playing out in courtrooms, on ballots, and in legislatures across the country: who controls primary elections, the parties or the voters. Only SCOTUS can settle it, and when it does, it will put both parties on one side and the voters on the other.
Senator Lisa Murkowski defies Trump on the SAVE America Act, arguing it would create impossible barriers for Alaska voters. Her opposition shows how nonpartisan elections give lawmakers freedom from party pressure.
The effort to repeal California’s Top Two primary would erase the constitutional guarantee that “all voters may vote,” sidelining more than 6 million independents as reformers push for a Top Four or Top Five alternative.
Chad Peace joins Dr. David D. Schein’s Saving America to explain how closed primaries, safe seats, and party-controlled elections leave millions of voters on the sidelines before November ever arrives and the nonpartisan, more choice solution to solve the primary problem.
A California court’s ranked choice voting remedy is about Latino representation. But it also reflects a larger reality: election systems built around narrow political coalitions routinely leave independent voters outside the room.
Leading up to the primary, party operatives used the scare tactic of a “Democrat lockout,” but not only did California voters prove this wrong, but they also revealed why nonpartisan open primaries work—voters make the decisions.
Political outsiders and independent voters shaped the outcome, debunking the disinformation campaign pushed by establishment party insiders who manufactured a fear narrative about two Republicans potentially advancing.
California voters did exactly what voters tend to do: they evaluated the candidates, coalesced around viable contenders, and produced a result broadly reflective of the state's electorate.
We looked at all the negative things the 8 major candidates for governor said about each other, about Donald Trump and MAGA, about Democrats, and about California — from debates, interviews, and paid ads, in their own words.
You'd think Democrats and MAGA Republicans agree on nothing - but they just quietly teamed up to do one specific thing: shut 7 million California independent voters out of the primary. We're naming names.
Instead of turning back the clock, California should continue its history of pro-voter reform and build on the top-two system – by adding ranked-choice voting to its elections.
Shawn Griffiths
Chad Peace
Susan von Seggern
Dan Schnur
Independent Voter Podcast
Open Primaries
Cara Brown McCormick
Meredith Sumpter
Marcela Miranda-Prieto