Open Primaries

{{Short description|American advocacy group}}

{{about|the organization||Primary elections in the United States#Closed primary}}

Open Primaries is an American 501(c)(4) and 501(c)(3) advocacy organization. Its headquarters are in New York City.

The group advocates for open primaries in the United States with a focus on the nonpartisan blanket primary.{{cite news|last1=Berman|first1=Russell|title=What's the Answer to Political Polarization in the U.S.?|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/03/whats-the-answer-to-political-polarization/470163/|publisher=The Atlantic|date=8 March 2016}}{{cite news|last1=Sago|first1=Renata|title=Sick Of Political Parties, Unaffiliated Voters Are Changing Politics|url=https://www.npr.org/2016/02/28/467961962/sick-of-political-parties-unaffiliated-voters-are-changing-politics|publisher=NPR|date=28 February 2016}}{{cite news|last1=Berman|first1=Russell|title=What If the Parties Didn't Run Primaries?|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/10/what-if-the-parties-didnt-run-primaries/411022/|publisher=The Atlantic|date=19 October 2015}}{{cite news|title=Push For Open Primaries In New Mexico|url=http://krwg.org/post/push-open-primaries-new-mexico|publisher=KRWG (NPR)|date=12 February 2016}}{{cite news|last1=Vock|first1=Daniel|title=In South Dakota, Voters Get Rare Chance to Transform Politics|url=http://www.governing.com/topics/elections/gov-south-dakota-election-ballot-measures.html|publisher=Governing Magazine|date=18 August 2016}}{{cite news|last1=Peterson|first1=Kristina|title=Effort in South Dakota Aims to Drop Parties|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/effort-in-south-dakota-aims-to-drop-parties-1459209463|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|date=28 March 2016}}{{cite news|last1=Gruber|first1=Jeremy|title=Rasoul and Gruber column: Look to Nebraska: People over partisanship.|url=http://www.richmond.com/opinion/their-opinion/guest-columnists/rasoul-and-gruber-column-look-to-nebraska-people-over-partisanship/article_69882a31-5028-51f2-ae92-1d3807a8a214.html|publisher=Richmond Times-Dispatch|date=19 September 2016}} The group supported a successful ballot initiative in Colorado that created an open primary system in 2016.{{cite news|last1=Opdycke|first1=John|title=Colorado Primary Reform: The Fix Is In.|url=http://www.newsweek.com/colorado-primary-reform-fix-500223|publisher=Newsweek|date=20 September 2016}}

The group also publishes research on the benefits of public, nonpartisan primaries, as well as the harmful effects of closed primaries. During the 2016 presidential primary, the group declared that closed presidential primaries cost taxpayers roughly $287.8 million to administer, and that 26.3 million voters were locked out of the primary due to their unaffiliated or independent voter status.{{cite news|last1=Harding|first1=Robert|title=Report: Millions of NY voters blocked from voting in presidential primaries, but still fund elections|url=http://auburnpub.com/blogs/eye_on_ny/report-millions-of-ny-voters-blocked-from-voting-in-presidential/article_4d5a2c86-3970-11e6-ba2e-5f391f309749.html|publisher=The Auburn Citizen|date=24 June 2016}}{{cite news|last1=Sasko|first1=Claire|title=Report: Pennsylvania Primaries Fifth Most-Expensive in the Nation|url=http://www.phillymag.com/news/2016/06/30/pennsylvania-primaries-cost-taxpayers/|publisher=Philadelphia Magazine|date=30 June 2016}}{{cite news|last1=Sherrets|first1=Dane|title=HOW A STATE CAN PREVENT 3.2 MILLION REGISTERED VOTERS FROM VOTING|url=http://www.centristproject.org/how_prevent_voters_from_voting|publisher=The Centrist Project|date=21 April 2016}}