Unite America

#CountryOverParty A movement to put voters first.

[Unite America @uniteamerica]

🗳️ U.S. primaries begin today! 🗳️

Primary season is kicking off in five states — Arkansas, North Carolina, Texas, Mississippi, and Illinois — covering 77 U.S. House districts.

If you think these elections are just the opening act before the “real” contest in November, think again.

In 74 of those 77 districts — 96% — the race is effectively over before the general election even begins. The dominant party’s primary will decide who goes to Congress. Roughly 17% of the entire U.S. House will be effectively decided in March alone.

In Illinois, Arkansas, and Mississippi, not a single House race is rated competitive in November. Every district in those states will be settled in the dominant party’s primary.

And in more than a third of these districts — 26 races — the outcome is already locked in before a single vote is cast. These candidates are running unopposed in seats that will be safely won by the dominant party.

This staggering lack of competition in American elections isn’t an anomaly. It’s a preview of how the 2026 election will unfold across the country.

Learn more: https://t.co/fDaOYJx2lV

[Unite America @uniteamerica]

Shockingly, 40% of U.S. House seats have already been decided in low turnout party primaries.

But, @NickTroiano of Unite America has some good news. Some states that voted Tuesday - like New Mexico and California - have open primary elections which give more voters a say.

For the first time, 330,000 independent voters were allowed to vote in New Mexico’s primary elections, boosting voter turnout.

In California, all 26 million voters, more than 25% who are independent, were able to cast a ballot for any candidate - which increased the competitiveness of elections in the state.

Open primaries give every voter a voice and makes November matter.

#OpenPrimaries #UniteAmerica #PrimaryElections #CAPrimary #NMPrimary

[Unite America @uniteamerica]

🎉 More than 38,000 independents voted in New Mexico's first semi-open primary! 🎉

They were part of the 343,768 voters who cast ballots in Tuesday's primary -- an increase of nearly 112,000 voters from the 2024 primary election. Overall, turnout for this year's primary election in New Mexico was the second-highest in state history!

Learn more: https://t.co/CrhXspeepF

[Unite America @uniteamerica]

Unlike most states, every California voter had the freedom vote for any candidate in Tuesday's primaries.

Because of California’s open, all-candidate primary system, all 26M eligible California voters — including nearly 7M independent and non-major party voters — could participate in Tuesday’s primary and vote for any candidate regardless of party up and down their ballot. California is one of three states that uses all-candidate primaries for state and federal offices.

Early results suggest this year's election will continue a longstanding trend: roughly one in ten California U.S. House races will feature same-party general election matchups. Those contests help create competition in districts that would otherwise be effectively decided in a party primary. In 2024, 22% of general elections for the U.S. House were competitive across the three all-candidate primary states — double the rate in the rest of the country (11%).

“The Golden State demonstrated how open, all-candidate primaries inject competition into general elections that would otherwise be foregone conclusions. In at least two districts that heavily favor one party or the other –– and potentially in the governor’s race –– two members of the dominant party will advance to the general election and actually have to compete for the entire electorate to win. Once again, California’s top-two primary is delivering on its promises: more participation, stronger representation, and more accountable government. Other states should follow suit.” - Unite America Executive Director @NickTroiano

Learn more: https://t.co/ChIgIKx9Vy

[Unite America @uniteamerica]

New Mexico's first open primaries were a success!

As a result of a bipartisan law enacted last year, New Mexico’s more than 380,000 independent voters had the opportunity to participate in the state’s primary elections on Tuesday. According to @NMSecOfState Maggie Toulouse Oliver, at least 37,600 independent New Mexicans took advantage of their new right for the first time, and primary turnout was also higher in this election than in 2024:

"We had a successful first Semi-open Primary Election thanks to the members of my team, county clerks, and the poll workers who have worked tirelessly to ensure a smooth voting process for all those who participated. More voters turned out during this year’s Primary Election than participated in the 2024 Primary Election – including more than 37,600 independent voters who were able to do so for the first time without changing the political party on their voter registration. Our democracy works best and New Mexico benefits overall when more registered voters able to participate in our elections.”

In a state where many elections are effectively decided in the primary, the reform ensured that independent voters could help choose the candidates who will ultimately represent them in Congress and statewide office.

“For the first time in state history, New Mexico’s independent voters had the opportunity to cast a meaningful vote in the elections that most often determines who represents them. For too long, hundreds of thousands of New Mexicans were excluded from primary elections they pay for simply because they chose not to join a political party. The new law ends that inequity and gives every voter a voice. This victory belongs to the New Mexicans who spent years building support for reform.” - Executive Director of Unite America, @NickTroiano

Learn more: https://t.co/uLBZvyMKOh

[Unite America @uniteamerica]

Today, for the very first time, 330,000 independent voters can participate in New Mexico's primary elections without changing their registration to a major party.

SB16, a bipartisan law that opens primary elections to independent voters and modernizes election administration statewide, was signed into law in April 2025. It passed with bipartisan support in both chambers.

@NMOpenElections and New Mexico Voters First led the multi-year campaign, spearheading a coalition that included @NativeVoters, @CommonCause New Mexico, @ProtectNM, the Veterans and Military Families Caucus, and more.

“With more participation, we get better electoral outcomes. We get elected officials that look like us, feel like us, have values like us. It’s a very challenging time in our country, and having this bill pass, to celebrate this and show that our state is moving forward, and we’re going to have an incredibly participative primary in 2026, is very exciting news that we all need.” — @NMSecOfState

“Democracy only works if we all play a part. When I took office, I wasn’t just elected to represent Republicans but all of my constituents. That includes my constituents in our state’s fastest growing party — independents. Senate Bill 16 gives everyone a voice and removes barriers for those who want to see the best candidate come forward from each party, not just the one that tacks hardest left or right to win the primary.” — @CrystalRDiamond (R–Senate District 35)

“I think the work to have open primaries is a step in the right direction for New Mexico, where we seem to not be able to govern in a way. I mean, I can't govern without policymakers.... And so I think open primaries are going to give New Mexicans some more opportunity here.…” — @GovMLG

Learn more about New Mexico's new primary system: https://t.co/hm8vYqvBIC

[Unite America @uniteamerica]

Today in California, every voter -- including millions of independent voters -- has the freedom to participate in their taxpayer-funded primaries and vote for any candidate, regardless of party.

That is what makes open primaries so special. Since their adoption, California's open primary system has produced more competition, higher participation, and more representative outcomes.

Learn more about California's system and why it's good for voters: https://t.co/vqLLT75g4T

[Paul Rieckhoff🇺🇸🇺🇦 @PaulRieckhoff]

I saw @BradLander this morning campaigning outside my kids public school. He’s running in my district (NY-10). I asked him if he’d support open primaries in NYC. He gave me a bullshit answer about how he supports rank choice voting (not the same—and great for Dems in NYC—bad for everyone else). And he went to the party line about the need to fight gerrymandering. I asked him to support non partisan congressional redistricting—of course he wouldn’t.

He kept dodging open primaries and his record. Like the shadiest kind of politician does. I pressed him—and he uncomfortably and eventually admitted he doesn’t support open primaries. Then told me I should just join a party. Which is the great revealer. Then he weakly tried to argue against open primaries. He’s used to debating people who are less informed on this issue. He thinks people don’t know that he’s been the lead hatchet-man for the DSA and Mamdani in closing out independents in NYC. Here’s some background: https://t.co/lXMbABd46e

They don’t want t allow it on the ballot for a public vote. Because they’ll lose. And radicals that are the minority on both sides will be shut out. Less Mamdanis. Less Trumps.

Primaries in NYC are funded publicly, by all NYers, and use PUBLIC funds, voting machines, and schools. Like the one we were standing outside of. That my kids go to. Just blocks from ground zero where I served on 9/11. That I can’t vote in next month. Because Lander, the Democrats and DSA want to keep their rigged and private system in place. It’s corrupt, it’s rigged, and it’s unAmerican. And he knows it. But still supports it because it benefits him and his extreme side. And he calculates that most NYers and voters in our NY-10th won’t learn about it. Republicans and Democrats are doing the same nationwide. Denying independents (45% of America) equal power in our democracy.

Lander refuses to support an equal vote for all New Yorkers. And for an independent vet like me—and hundreds of thousands of others. And he’s actively working against it. More than almost any politician in America. Despite the fact that most NYers (and most Americans) want open primaries.

It reveals his naked and radical partisanship more than anything else. If you don’t support open primaries you don’t support equality for all. That’s the bottom line. And that’s Lander.

FWIW, I’m not supporting @danielsgoldman either. But the reality is, because of the rigged primary system, it will be over in NY-10 next month. And Lander is likely to win. And the Democrat will definitely win. But, like tens of millions of independents, I will have no meaningful vote or say in determining my member of Congress. The person who will determine votes on war, my VA benefits, and countless other urgent issues. I have no voice in Congress. As is the case in 90%+ congressional races in America that are over after the primary.

This is what our rigged and corrupt election system looks like.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Now, New Mexico, California next week, and other states are getting it right.

And I’ll never stop fighting Lander or any other Democrat or Republican that wants to perpetuate the rigged system. It’s not broken. It’s rigged. And it’s wrong.

And I hope you’ll stand with me, Open Primaries, IVA and tens of millions of others. Until it’s changed and open primaries are everywhere. It’s bigger than NY-10, or NY state. It’s about the future of our democracy. And Brad Lander is leading the attack.🚨🇺🇸🗽

🗳️Next week in California, there will be open primaries. And millions of independents will finally have a new and historic opportunity to have any impact. But will it be the last time? It will be if Brad Lander and others in California have their way. I’ll be part of a press event repping for @IndyVetsAmerica today at 2ET alongside @OpenPrimaryUSA, Independent Voter Project, and @UniteAmerica. Members of the media are invited to learn more: https://t.co/BO5Dt51sqe

[Unite America @uniteamerica]

New over the weekend: @NickTroiano is quoted in @TheAtlantic: The parties’ “push to maximize partisan advantage in ways that silence voters will lead to a populist backlash, and I think in that backlash is our opportunity."

Read the article by @russellberman: https://t.co/67v8BCyCr0

[Unite America @uniteamerica]

Columnist @ByChrisBrennan write in @USATODAY that "as the ranks of registered independents grow, so do calls for open primaries that let everyone cast a ballot."

In states like Pennsylvania with closed primaries, "the primary is likely to be the only chance to choose," and independents are locked out.

@davidthornburgh, chair of @Ballot_PA, calculated that in the nine decades since Pennsylvania created its closed primary system in 1937, about 50 million voters have been prevented from casting a ballot in an election. That number increased in PA's primaries this month by 1.4 million.

"This is just killing our country," @jbopdycke of @OpenPrimaryUSA said. "This demonization of people that you disagree with, this converting issues into wedges, this never solving any problems because they're good for fundraising, this Team Blue or Team Red."

Learn more: https://t.co/zqFSzAVGPh

[Unite America @uniteamerica]

Don't miss this fantastic piece by @caitlindewey over @voxdotcom.

Primaries matter even more amid the so-called "redistricting wars," as both parties race to redraw electoral maps and squeeze out additional safe seats. Gerrymandering and political self-sorting have made general elections far less competitive since the 1970s.

Today, most members of Congress hail from safely Democratic or Republican districts: Only 18 of 435 House races are considered toss-ups, according to the Cook Political Report. In other words, most members of Congress are effectively chosen in their party’s primary election.

“The root cause of our political dysfunction is that November elections in this country are for the most part meaningless,” the political reformer Katherine Gehl told my colleague Andrew Prokop in 2022. “Most November voters are wasting their time, which is…profoundly undemocratic and unrepresentative.”

Just one in five eligible voters turn out for midterm primaries, and those voters tend to be whiter, older, wealthier, and more partisan than the electorate overall. That helps explain why ideas at the outer fringes of each party tend to take up more oxygen during primary elections.

Read the full piece: https://t.co/CDnTlEpnEt

[Unite America @uniteamerica]

The @WashPost editorial board is right: America has an increasingly broken primary system.

Cassidy’s third-place finish highlights another unfortunate trend in American politics: the decline of open primaries across the country.

In every instance, party leaders seek a viselike grip on power. The result will be elected officials who are less representative of all the people in the states they represent.

Read more: https://t.co/STCdNIXQYg

[Unite America @uniteamerica]

📣 It's primary election day in Georgia!

Chris Clark (@cclark_georgia1), President and CEO of Georgia Chamber of Commerce (@GAChamber), is working with May Matters GA to increase voter turnout today.

The Chamber has been working with May Matters to help Georgians understand why primary elections deserve their attention.

"What we've been telling Georgians as we've traveled the state the last few weeks that when you show up to vote in a primary, your vote counts four times what it would count in the general in Georgia, and please go show up and vote in the runoff, because your vote counts 12 times what it counts in November,” Clark said.

Primary voting is not just for political insiders. It is not just for the most ideological voters or the people who already know every race on the ballot. It is for every Georgian who wants a say in the decisions that shape the state. Read more:

https://t.co/u4c54Kkfl6

[Unite America @uniteamerica]

Voters should choose their politicians, not the other way around. When political parties draw their own state and congressional districts each decade (gerrymandering), they can effectively choose their own voters. This allows the party in power to manipulate elections, all but guaranteeing the ultimate partisan outcome of an election before a single ballot has been cast.

@NickTroiano told @politico, “Even before the latest gerrymandering wars, we were facing a crisis of political competition,” said Troiano, executive director of the group Unite America, which argues for political reforms to make government more representative and functional. “And that crisis has gotten marginally worse, only because it’s hard to get that much worse when already 90 percent of seats were uncompetitive this November.”

Read the full article: https://t.co/h7XPb7cFS5

[Nick Troiano @NickTroiano]

Let’s be clear about today’s election in Louisiana.

Politicians spent millions of dollars to reinstate a party primary (and only for federal office) in a state that for 50 years had none for one reason: as retribution against Senator Cassidy for daring to stand up to his party and defend the Constitution.

Corrupt insiders close primaries for the same reason they gerrymander districts: to pick their voters, rig outcomes, consolidate power and dodge accountability.

It’s the same dynamic in AK and CA, where R and D party bosses, respectively, are currently trying to repeal all-candidate primaries that give all voters the freedom to vote for whoever they want, regardless of party (in the elections they pay for!).

The real fight for our democracy isn’t between Left and Right; it’s between power-hungry Party Bosses and the People.

Wake up, America! They aren’t (just) trying to block your access to the ballot…they are systemically trying to make sure your vote in November doesn’t actually matter.

It’s the oldest trick in the book. As Tammany Hall’s Boss Tweed famously said: “I don't care who does the electing, so long as I do the nominating.” That’s exactly what Governor Landry is telling the citizens of Louisiana today.

A century ago, citizens stood up and got rid of the smoke-filled rooms. It’s time we do so again. @uniteamerica

[Face The Nation @FaceTheNation]

“Is the message here for Republicans that if you dissent from the President, he is going to take you down?” @margbrennan asked Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) after Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy’s defeat in his Republican primary.

“Well, it is one of the many reasons, Margaret, why we need to open primaries up in all 50 states,” Fitzpatrick said. “Closed primaries, coupled with gerrymandering, your previous question, are really, really hurting our country. They're causing gridlock on the House floor.”

[Unite America @uniteamerica]

📣 Unite America featured in @nytimes 📣

"Unite America published a study on Thursday suggesting that open primaries being used in five states — California, Louisiana, Alaska, Nebraska and Washington — have improved lives by encouraging the election of pragmatic lawmakers likely to enact useful legislation.

@RichardBarton85, a Syracuse University @MaxwellSU political scientist who conducted the study, analyzed 14 metrics and found that states with nonpartisan primaries had seen “statistically significant improvements” in nine of them — even when accounting for other factors.

Mr. Barton’s research offered case studies to back up his statistical observations. In Louisiana, he argued, nonpartisan primaries had prompted the election of moderate Republican lawmakers who were forced to appeal to a broader coalition of voters. The result: Legislators expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act a decade ago, making Louisiana one of only a few Southern states to do so.

Mr. Barton wrote that open primaries are “undercutting the power of each party’s ideological base, incentivizing candidates to build broader coalitions.”

https://t.co/UWktpYZPT6

[Unite America @uniteamerica]

.@NickTroiano is quoted at length in a new analysis from @AshLopezRadio and @MilesParks for @NPR @nprpolitics:

"We're stuck in a zero-sum battle in which the parties are trying to maximize their power by manipulating the rules," said Nick Troiano, executive director of Unite America, a group that pushes for reforms to primary election systems.

"The collateral damage is the everyday voter who just wants to have a say in who gets to represent them and to have the ability to hold them accountable."

Troiano warns that this redistricting war amounts to "a race to the bottom" that will also leave most voters without meaningful representation in Congress.

In pursuit of more safe districts, communities and voting blocs are being further divided up, making it harder for them to organize.

It's also created a situation where there are even fewer competitive seats. Troiano said before this redistricting battle about 90% of congressional races were uncompetitive. That is up to about 93% now, he estimates.

Ultimately, this means that for the vast majority of U.S. House races, the general election will be decided before voters even get a ballot.

"I think the parties right now are operating as if our election system and our democracy belongs to them and we're mere pawns in a game that they play as far as who can win a mere majority of seats come November," he said. "In reality, this system belongs to the voters."

https://t.co/p7iyPekAGl

[Unite America @uniteamerica]

📣 NEW: @NickTroiano on a new effort to repeal open primaries in California 📣

Citing the small possibility that two Republicans could advance to the general election in the California governor’s race, a Democratic consultant filed a repeal initiative Friday with state elections officials.

Since California voters approved top-two primaries in 2010, Democratic insiders and party leaders have used fears of party “lockouts” as a rationale for repeal over several election cycles. Those previous efforts never formally materialized.

Unite America Executive Director Nick Troiano issued the following statement in response:

“What a handful of party insiders are doing in California is no different from what their counterparts are doing in Alaska and Louisiana: fighting tooth and nail to exclude voters from taxpayer-funded primaries and protect their own power.

This is part of a familiar pattern. Everywhere open primaries are enacted or proposed, some in the dominant party oppose it because they see it as a threat to their monopoly. But the question shouldn’t be which system is best for the parties — it should be what’s best for the voters they seek to represent.

California’s top-two primary gives every voter, including millions of independent voters, the freedom to vote for any candidate, regardless of party. Since 2012, it has delivered more competitive elections, stronger representation, and better outcomes. Unite America will continue fighting for better elections that put voters first.”

Learn more: https://t.co/ixsmLNMYh5

[Unite America @uniteamerica]

NEW: @GO_GeneK and Sean Logan have served in different parties, represented different constituencies, and disagreed plenty over the years. But today, through Better Choices for Ohio, they are working side by side to advance election reforms that would give more Ohio voters a meaningful voice in the elections that shape their lives.

In too many races, they argue, the primary is the election that matters most. And when participation in those primaries is limited, many voters are left feeling like the real decisions have already been made before November.

That problem is especially stark for younger voters. Among registered Ohio voters under 35, just 4.6% are affiliated as Republican and 3.5% as Democratic. The remaining 92% are unaffiliated — a sign, Logan argues, that the next generation is not finding a home in either major party.

Read more: https://t.co/bupivEFJs9

[Unite America @uniteamerica]

Mayor of Oklahoma City @davidfholt recently discussed why open primaries are so transformative in a speech at the University of Tennessee:

"Oklahoma City is a living case study that the political process doesn’t have to be polarizing, and it doesn’t have to be winner-take-all. In OKC, we accept that the other fellow might win as well. We have to be okay with that. We can’t be so scorched earth in our approach that we are almost more focused on withholding success from others than we are our own desires. We must be willing to arrive at outcomes where everybody wins a little.

And in our candidate electoral process in Oklahoma City, candidates like myself are rewarded for this behavior. We are incentivized to bring people together. When I run for mayor, I do not run through a closed partisan primary. This is pretty common in mayoral systems around the country, but it is obviously not how state and federal officials are elected. Those candidates generally have to go through a closed partisan primary, where a small, extreme and uncompromising subset of the electorate acts as a gatekeeper.

But when you run for mayor of Oklahoma City, all of the candidates have to face all of the voters, and all of the voters get to see all of the candidates. This incentivizes mayors to build coalitions of the 70 percent of people in the middle. And as it turns out, that 70 percent still believes in compromise. Americans are not polarized. Some of us are; the 15 percent at each end of the spectrum. And unfortunately, through closed partisan primaries, they control who represents us. But the reality is that there are 70 percent of us in the middle – Republicans, Democrats and Independents – who just want to get things done. We have proven that out in Oklahoma City."

See the full speech: https://t.co/R9E0ZvZuhi