Amanda Melcher of Independent Voters for Arizona, testified today before the Arizona State Legislature Election Committee on the systemic failures of last Tuesday's presidential primary election. Below is her full testimony.
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Yesterday's Presidential preference election in Arizona was marred by long lines and wait times for voters prompting Gov. Ducey to go on record about the fiasco: "One way we can fix things is to simplify them,” he said, in a statement. “That means allowing independents to vote in presidential primaries, just as they vote in all other Arizona primaries. A big part of yesterday's problem was registered voters showing up, and being told they couldn’t vote. That's just wrong. If people want to take the time to vote they should be able to, and their vote should be counted." Below is a statement issued by Tim Castro and Jacqueline Salit on the election.
Jacqueline Salit is author of Independents Rising and president of IndependentVoting.org, a national association of independent voters seeking full inclusion in elections. Here she offers commentary on the suspension of the operation by the Arizona Open and Honest Elections coalition to secure ballot access for two political reform initiatives for the November ballot.
Read more"Here we are," began Patrick McWhortor in his remarks at the joint press conference sponsored by Open Primaries Arizona and Independent Voter of Arizona, "On the day when 1.2 million voters in Arizona are being told that the only way they can participate in the most visible election in the country, the nomination of someone to serve in the highest office in the land, is to undermine their commitment to being independent by requiring them to change their voter registration to a political party. This is the most sweeping voter suppression effort we have seen in recent history in America – the deliberate exclusion of independent voters."
Read moreArmida Lopez, Director of Latino Outreach for Open Primaries Arizona, spoke about the independence of the Latino community at the joint press conference held with Independent Voters for Arizona. "We are part of a national movement dedicated to opening our political system so that the voters, not the parties, have the power," said Lopez. "It sounds simple but it’s a fight! Partisanship is deeply, deeply ingrained, and nowhere is that more true than here in AZ." Lopez was interviewed before the start of the conference by Ben Marigott of ASU's Conkrite News.
Read more"We’re here today to talk about the Presidential Preference Election being held on March 22nd -- an historic election and one that excludes independents," said Tim Castro who opened a press conference jointly held by Independents for Arizona and Open Primaries Arizona. "The resolution to this problem that’s been offered by the state of Arizona is that independents can just re-register into a party. In fact, today marks the last day independents can do so. What’s wrong with this solution?"
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"In Arizona, 50.5% of all voters under the age of 30 are registered independent," stated Amanda Melcher in her remarks at a Feb. 22nd press conference. "That’s two hundred seventy six thousand, nine hundred and thirty-five voters. Typically, what you hear about millennial voters is that our turnout is low, and, were it higher, we would be more impactful. Remove the barriers so that independents can vote without having to change their registration - then we can talk turnout."
Read moreTo date letters have appeared in 14 local newspapers. In addition, four hundred independents from 38 towns are circulating an Open Letter to the Chairs of AZ Democratic and Republican parties urging they open their primaries to allow independents to participate.
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The push to open Arizona elections and allow full participation for independents got a boost this week with the filing of two ballot initiatives sponsored by the Open and Honest Elections Coalition.
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