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Group Pushes For All Voters To Vote In Florida Primaries

Erik (HASH) Hersman
/
Flickr Creative Commons

A bipartisan group is pushing for all registered voters to be allowed to vote in Florida’s primaries.

In Florida, when a candidate has opposition outside of their party, which is often the case, nonpartisan voters cannot cast a vote.

A proposed amendment called “All Voters Vote” could change that.

John Opdycke, president of Open Primaries, the group promoting the all-vote movement, says no American should have to join a political party to vote. 

Credit Openprimaries.org
A map of states with open and closed primaries.

"The primary reform movement is saying every American should have full access to the political system including the primaries and also, candidates who are running for office should be required to engage with all the voters from day one," he says.

Opdycke says allowing all Florida registered voters to vote in primaries will force candidates to expand their messaging to a broader audience.

If the All Voters Vote amendment makes it onto the 2016 ballot, and is approved by 60 percent of voters, it would take effect in the 2018 election cycle.

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