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Dariel Cruz Rodriguez

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    Elections

    Lightfoot defeat shows that open primaries work in the Windy City’s local elections

    Dariel Cruz Rodriguez
    April 03, 2023
    Lightfoot defeat shows that open primaries work in the Windy City’s local elections

    Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks to supporters at a campaign rally on February 25, 2023.

    Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images

    Dariel Cruz Rodriguez is a first-year undergraduate student at The University of Chicago in the Hyde Park neighborhood, where he is currently studying Public Policy and Democracy. He is the founder ofStudents for Open Primaries, a national election reform organization.

    A little over 6 months ago, I found myself standing at the front doors of Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, two bags in each hand and a promise to learn more about the Windy City ingrained in my head. Little did I know then that I would be starting classes at The University of Chicago while a heated mayoral primary was underway.

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    open primaries

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    Voting

    Young voters are more independent

    Dariel Cruz Rodriguez
    August 15, 2022
    Florida primary

    Jessie Finlayson, a volunteer election worker, assembles voting booths at the Robert L. Gilder Elections Service Center in Tampa for Florida's closed primaries.

    Octavio Jones/Getty Images

    Rodriguez, who will be a first-year student at the University of Chicago in the fall, is the co-founder ofStudents for Open Primariesand starred in the documentary “The Young Vote.”

    Two years ago, I wrote an op-ed about my pre-registration to vote in Florida as an NPA, shorthand for “no party affiliate”. In June, I turned 18 and officially became a registered voter. My party? Still no party. I am one of 3.8 million NPAs in the Sunshine State. I am not satisfied with the two-party dilemma, which has continued to impact our nation negatively on everything from the economy to the environment. And I am not alone, as 50 percent of millennials and Generation Z voters today are independent.

    Unfortunately, closed primaries are not just an issue in Florida. In 14 other states and the District of Columbia, at least one party will conduct closed primaries for congressional and state-level offices in the current election cycle. This means that for the 30 percent of uncontested general elections in 2022, independents and third-party voters lose out on making their voice heard on important issues that are decided coming out of the primary.

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    open primaries
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