Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Report: Young adults heavily favor open primaries

open primaries

Younger voters want to see the primary system reformed, according to a new study.

Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

The midterm elections resulted in control of Congress being split between Republicans and Democrats at a time when young people are feeling particularly disassociated from the political parties, according to new data released by the democracy reform group Students for Open Primaries.

Two-thirds of people ages 16-39 identified themselves as independents in the study, which was conducted prior to Election Day. And 68 percent say they do not feel represented by either of the parties, pinning at least some of the blame on the primary system.

“A growing number of young Americans, especially first-time voters, distrust party politics,” the study states. “More and more are rejecting registering with a party, believing that neither the Democratic Party nor the Republican Party represent them.”


Those feelings extend beyond party structures to individuals, with 80 percent saying they believe federal and state elected officials are more loyal to the party than constituents. (Twenty-six percent identified as Democrats and 9 percent as Republicans.)

As advocates for a shift away from closed primaries, Students for Open Primaries used the study to assess views on changes to the voting system that would allow independent and unaffiliated voters to help nominate candidates.

Four-fifths of respondents believe closed primaries, in which only voters registered with a political party may participate in that party’s nominating contest, are a “problem impacting young voters.”

Made with Flourish

Just over half said they did not know whether they live in a state with open primaries, but it’s not as simple as being “open” or “closed.” The National Conference of State Legislature identifies a number of variations with nine fully closed and six partially closed states. Then there is a range of open states – in some, voters who are registered with a party may cross to the other side; in others, only independents may choose which primary to participate in; and 15 states have full open primaries, where every voter may make a private decision about primaries.

“Young voters support open and nonpartisan primary systems as a key reform to make our system of elections more representative and democratic,” the report states.

The survey went a step further in its question about open primaries, asking whether respondents favored a system in which all candidates appear on one primary ballot, with the top vote-getters – regardless of party affiliation – advancing to the general election. Respondents overwhelmingly favored the idea, with backing from 85 percent.

California and Washington have such a system, with the top two candidates moving forward. Alaska recently implemented a “top four” system, and the voters of Nevada approved a “top five” ballot initiative early this month although it needs to go through a second round of approval in 2024.

Louisiana has a different version in which it holds an all-candidate primary on Election Day. Any candidate receiving a majority of the vote wins the race; otherwise, the two with the most votes proceed to a runoff.

The survey of 1,000 people ages 16-39 was conducted June 1-Oct. 1. According to Students for Open Primaries, the respondents were near-evenly split between Generation Z (16-22 years old) and millennials (23-39 years old.)

Read the full report.

Read More

U.S. President Donald Trump walks towards Marine One on the South Lawn on May 1, 2025 in Washington, DC.
U.S. President Donald Trump walks towards Marine One on the South Lawn on May 1, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Getty Images, Andrew Harnik

Congress Bill Spotlight: National Garden of American Heroes, As Trump Proposed

The Fulcrum introduces Congress Bill Spotlight, a weekly report by Jesse Rifkin, focusing on the noteworthy legislation of the thousands introduced in Congress. Rifkin has written about Congress for years, and now he's dissecting the most interesting bills you need to know about, but that often don't get the right news coverage.

What do Kobe Bryant, Dr. Seuss, Walt Disney, Alex Trebek, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg have in common?

Keep ReadingShow less
Democracy on the Edge—And How We Bring It Back

Democracy on the Edge—And How We Bring It Back

Democracy on the Edge—And How We Bring It Back

Welcome to the latest edition of The Expand Democracy 5. With Rob Ritchie and Eveline Dowling’s help, we highlight timely links and stories about democracy at the local, national, and global levels. Today's stories include:

🧨 The psychology of political violence in America

Keep ReadingShow less
Just the Facts: Using the Military to Stop Riots

National Guard

File footage

Just the Facts: Using the Military to Stop Riots

The Fulcrum strives to approach news stories with an open mind and skepticism, striving to present our readers with a broad spectrum of viewpoints through diligent research and critical thinking. As best we can, remove personal bias from our reporting and seek a variety of perspectives in both our news gathering and selection of opinion pieces. However, before our readers can analyze varying viewpoints, they must have the facts.

Before President Trump called up the military to stop the L.A. riots this week, has the military ever been called upon to stop protests in the United States?

Keep ReadingShow less
Defining the Democracy Movement: John Bridgeland
- YouTube

Defining the Democracy Movement: John Bridgeland

The Fulcrum presents The Path Forward: Defining the Democracy Reform Movement. Scott Warren's interview series engages diverse thought leaders to elevate the conversation about building a thriving and healthy democratic republic that fulfills its potential as a national social and political game-changer. This initiative is the start of focused collaborations and dialogue led by The Bridge Alliance and The Fulcrum teams to help the movement find a path forward.

John Bridgeland is the CEO and Executive Chair of More Perfect and former Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council under President George W. Bush. More Perfect is a recently launched bipartisan initiative designed to engage a wide range of institutions and Americans in the work of protecting and renewing American Democracy.

Keep ReadingShow less