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CONTACT
Jeremy Gruber
Senior Vice President
The URC was established at the 2016 Democratic Convention in response to voters’ frustration with the 2016 election season and the conflicts between supporters of candidates Senator Bernie Sanders and Secretary Hillary Clinton. It was tasked with offering recommended rule changes to the DNC Rules Committee ahead of the 2020 presidential primaries.
Open Primaries presented the DNC’s Unity Reform Commission with over 100,000 petition signatures —urging the Democratic Party to adopt open primaries in all 50 states ahead of the 2020 primary season.
________________________
Open Primaries is a national, election reform organization working to enact open and nonpartisan primary systems, counter efforts to close primaries, educate voters, train and support spokespeople, and participate in the building of local, state and national coalitions.
Open Primaries Petition
https://www.openprimaries.org/unrig-the-dnc
An important forum for that dialogue took place at the Democratic National Convention, where delegates argued for hours over whether the system was unfair and puts the establishment before the voters.
Now, more and more evidence is coming forward that the system is indeed rigged. Even Senator Elizabeth Warren recognized such when she recently said there is a critical need to bring people together and focus on reforming the system so that the next nominee is actually “the candidate chosen by the people.”
What she didn’t mention is that we have a real opportunity to impact the way one of our two major parties actually runs the electoral process.
Last year’s convention produced a Unity Reform Commission (URC) tasked with offering changes to the Democratic Party’s nomination process. Their charter requires them to focus on issues such as closed primaries and offer the party recommendations on concrete solutions.
Open Primaries has been monitoring the Commission’s activities, providing them with resources, and demanding that they take a leadership role in reforming our electoral system. They have not put forth a final proposal. There is still time to act.
Closed primaries are one of the many ways that both parties rig the outcome of their elections. Tell the DNC that a party that claims to stand for “inclusion, participation, diversity, and progress,” should empower the voters and make sure their votes count! Tell them that if they’re serious about reforming the Party, they need to open the primaries.
Open Primaries is working hard to put our electoral system firmly in the hands of the people, not the parties. Until then, we are calling on the DNC Unity Reform Commission to abide by its charter and put forth a recommendation that the DNC Rules Committee open the presidential primaries in all 50 states, put the voters back in charge and unrig the system once and for all.
Add your voice to the collective movement by signing below:
CONTACT
Jeremy Gruber
Senior Vice President
Democratic Party’s “Unity Reform Commission” Inaction on Opening the Primaries Condemned by Electoral Reform Group
New York – December 8, 2017 – Today Open Primaries, a non-partisan electoral reform organization, condemned the Democratic Party’s Unity Reform Commission (URC) for its inaction on opening primary elections nationwide.The URC was established at the 2016 Democratic Convention in response to voters’ frustration with the 2016 election season and the conflicts between supporters of candidates Senator Bernie Sanders and Secretary Hillary Clinton. It was tasked with offering recommended rule changes to the DNC Rules Committee ahead of the 2020 presidential primaries.
“73% of Democrats (and 70% of all
Americans) want open primaries 1 . The DNC has the legal authority to
open up the presidential primaries in all 50 states. But the Party
leadership on its “Unity Reform Commission” isn’t listening to them or
the rest of the country and, as a result, today has missed a historic
opportunity to make the Democratic Party more democratic. No wonder 45%
of Americans 2 , including 50% of millennials, now identify as
independents. 3 The political parties, time and time again, ignore the
voters – 26.2 million of who were shut out of the 2016 presidential
primaries – in favor of insider and special interests. The Democratic
Party is not only ensuring that the 2020 presidential primaries will be
as rigged against the voters as they were in 2016, but they are losing
an entire generation of voters as well. The time has come to take these
decisions out of the hands of the parties. The American taxpayer pays
for the primaries, but isn’t in control of their own elections. What
does it say about the state of our democracy when you can’t vote for
who you want in America today?”
John Opdycke, President of Open Primaries
John Opdycke, President of Open Primaries
Open Primaries presented the DNC’s Unity Reform Commission with over 100,000 petition signatures —urging the Democratic Party to adopt open primaries in all 50 states ahead of the 2020 primary season.
________________________
Open Primaries is a national, election reform organization working to enact open and nonpartisan primary systems, counter efforts to close primaries, educate voters, train and support spokespeople, and participate in the building of local, state and national coalitions.
Open Primaries Petition
https://www.openprimaries.org/unrig-the-dnc
UNRIG THE DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES
Tell the DNC Unity Reform Commission: Unrig the System and Open the Primaries
Last year, millions of voters stood up and expressed their anger with a rigged presidential primary system that shut out 26.3 million independents and left many party voters feeling like their vote doesn't count. Americans stood up and demanded a new way forward, one that unites people with different beliefs and backgrounds.An important forum for that dialogue took place at the Democratic National Convention, where delegates argued for hours over whether the system was unfair and puts the establishment before the voters.
Now, more and more evidence is coming forward that the system is indeed rigged. Even Senator Elizabeth Warren recognized such when she recently said there is a critical need to bring people together and focus on reforming the system so that the next nominee is actually “the candidate chosen by the people.”
What she didn’t mention is that we have a real opportunity to impact the way one of our two major parties actually runs the electoral process.
Last year’s convention produced a Unity Reform Commission (URC) tasked with offering changes to the Democratic Party’s nomination process. Their charter requires them to focus on issues such as closed primaries and offer the party recommendations on concrete solutions.
Open Primaries has been monitoring the Commission’s activities, providing them with resources, and demanding that they take a leadership role in reforming our electoral system. They have not put forth a final proposal. There is still time to act.
Closed primaries are one of the many ways that both parties rig the outcome of their elections. Tell the DNC that a party that claims to stand for “inclusion, participation, diversity, and progress,” should empower the voters and make sure their votes count! Tell them that if they’re serious about reforming the Party, they need to open the primaries.
Open Primaries is working hard to put our electoral system firmly in the hands of the people, not the parties. Until then, we are calling on the DNC Unity Reform Commission to abide by its charter and put forth a recommendation that the DNC Rules Committee open the presidential primaries in all 50 states, put the voters back in charge and unrig the system once and for all.
Add your voice to the collective movement by signing below:
Copyright © 2017 Eric M. Appleman/Democracy in
Action.
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