What do independent voters want? And why don't they affiliate with a party?

• R-E-S-P-E-C-T: 87% of Independents Believe They Don't get it From the Media, the Political Parties or the Candidates
  2018 - In a blockbuster survey, almost 5,000 independent voters tells why they are indepedent, whether they think elected officials care what they think, and other questions.
• Confronting a New Reality: Independents Speak Out - A National Survey of Independent Voters in the Time of Pandemic and Protest
  2020 - answers how / when / why did they become independents; is there more partisanship and what problems does it cause
• New Survey on Independent Voters: Independents Open to a New Party – If it’s a New Kind of Party
  survey answers why are they independent, which crises they believe reveal the inability of the two-party system to lead our system, and their take on independent candidates and a third party.
  
  

Do open primaries facilitate crossover voting to sabotage political parties?

• Analysis of Crossover and Strategic Voting (June, 2010). Michael Alvarez and Johnathan Nagler
  analysis of primary elections concludes there is very little crossover voting; the dfference in crossover voting between open and closed primaries is not substantively large; and the amount of strategic behavior on the part of voters is extremely small.
• The REAL "Operation Chaos" by John Opdyke
  Written in 2000 when Republicans were urged to sabotage the Democratic party's nomination, this debunks the myth that primaries should be closed to avoid "cross-over" voting.
  
  

What do Maryland legislators think of open primaries and ranked-choice voting?

Last August (2024), we surveyed the Maryland state legislators about their views on open primaries and ranked-choice voting. Their responses -- or lack of it, was very telling.

Is there research indicating that open primaries can be beneficial?

• Evaluating California's top-two primary: University of Southern California
  This research, sponsored by the Schwarzenneger Institute, showed that candidates are more bipartisan and more responsive to independent voters in top-two primaries than in closed primaries.
• Electoral Institutions and Legislative Behavior: The Effects of Primary Processes. Michael Alvarez and Betsy Sinclair (2012)
  study has implications for highly polarized state legislatures: they found that California legislators who were elected in a nonpartisan open primary were more centrally networked and likely to compromise with other legislators than those who were elected in California's closed primaries.
  
  

What effect can open vs. closed primaries have on our government, community, polarization and democracy?

• Why Competition in the Politics Industry is Failing America by Katherine M. Gehl and Michael E. Porte
  Groundbreaking analysis of the election and governmental systems from the perspective of business reveals that our political problems are due to a systems problem; a failure of the nature of the political competition. It gives concrete solutions for which we can advocate: restructure the election system and the governing process; reform money in politics; and open up competition.
• Jared Diamond - how democracy ends & why stupidity is conquering the world
  Jared Diamond, author of Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis, explains that the extreme polarization of the U.S., and its election systems that exclude some citizens, could end our democracy.
• Polarization is destroying democracy, and we can DO something about it! by Dona Sauerburger
  Compromise is an essential part of democracy and without it, we are at risk of losing our precious way of life. Dona offers suggestions for addressing this problem.
  
  

Is there support for open primaries in our community?

• Position on open primaries: League of Women Voters of Maryland
  In 2018, following a two-year study, the LWVMD changed its position and supported open primaries.
  • REPORT and Background Materials - Extensive information resulting from the two-year study 2016-8
  • Party control in Maryland's county government: - In many Maryland counties, the strength of one party may be so great as to exclude many voters from effective participation in local elections.
    
    
• Op Eds and letters to the editor
  • Baltimore Sun December 22, 2024 - Let unaffiliated voters participate in Maryland’s primaries
    
    by Boyd K. Rutherford, attorney and former Lt. Governor of Maryland
  • Baltimore Sun August 8, 2024 - Maryland must open primaries to all voters
    
    by Melanie Combs-Dyer, Chair of our Executive Committee and founder of Let Us Vote MD
  • Baltimore Banner, June 10, 2025 - Opinion: The next Annapolis mayor should call a vote on changing local elections
    by Rick Hutzell, Annapolis columnist for The Baltimore Banner
    
    

Where can we find more information, studies and research about open primaries?