Closed primaries aren’t just outdated. They’re undemocratic

More and more Americans are rejecting the two-party system. In fact, independents now make up the largest group of voters in the country.  

But in much of the U.S., they still don’t have a voice where it counts: primary elections. 

In 2024, over 80% of House races were effectively decided by the primary. These Congressional districts were so red or blue that the general election is a cakewalk for whoever wins the majority party’s primary. 

Many states throughout the country hold “closed primaries,” where only voters registered with a party may vote in that party’s primary. These are taxpayer-funded elections that usually determine the outcome of the general election, and independents are barred from participating. 

Here’s how bad it is:

16 

16 states have closed primaries for Congressional races, from Florida to New York to Oregon. Even more – 24 states – have closed primaries for the presidential race.   

16.5 million 

There are over 16 million registered independents in those 16 states with closed Congressional primaries. That’s a quarter of all voters in those states. 

And that doesn’t even count third-party voters or the many independents who only register with a party to keep their voting rights. 

117 

There are only a dozen House seats in closed primary states that the Cook Political Report rates as competitive. In the other 117 Congressional districts in those states, the primary decides everything – and independents have no say at all.