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TESTIMONY
Testimony by Richard Ronner advocating for open, nonpartisan primaries to include independent voters
2:25:51
·
174 sec
Richard Ronner, an Astoria resident registered as an independent, testifies in favor of open, nonpartisan primaries. He argues the current closed system disenfranchises over a million independent voters like himself, preventing participation in decisive primary elections paid for by all taxpayers, and undermines the broader democracy needed to address critical issues. He urges the commission to put the issue on the ballot.
- Closed primaries exclude ~1.2 million independent voters (and potentially Republicans in key races) from decisive elections.
- Believes wider participation through open primaries is crucial for effective democracy.
- Registers independent due to lack of representation by major parties but feels excluded.
Richard Ronner
2:25:51
Hello?
2:25:53
I'm Richard Bronner.
2:25:54
I live in Astoria.
2:25:56
This is about open primaries.
2:25:59
Every day, we hear dire reports that our democracy is under threat, and I believe it is.
2:26:08
At the same time, many problems and crises we're all concerned about also seeing increasingly dire inextension, climate change, pandemics, or exploding inequality, homelessness, just
Eric Kober
2:26:25
to name a few.
Richard Ronner
2:26:27
And I'm a believer in democracy.
2:26:31
I believe if we're gonna have any hope of progressing on these issues in ways that take into account the interests of all of us, we're gonna need more democracy.
2:26:44
Here in New York City, we have a closed primary system that excludes I came up with 1,200,000 voters.
2:26:52
Those not registered in either major party from voting in the often decisive first round.
2:26:58
That's about 23% of city's vote of the city's voters.
2:27:04
And if you consider an election like this year's mayoral election, and it's, you know, pretty certain the winner of the democratic primary will be our next mayor, You could even count among those excluded half a million Republicans.
2:27:19
Now it's 34% of city's voters excluded from weighing in on a very critical race and very critical races in elections that we all pay for with our tax.
2:27:33
That's not right.
2:27:35
And this could all be remedied with open, nonpartisan.
2:27:40
Now you could ask, why does a responsible citizen choose to register independent?
2:27:46
It's a good question.
2:27:47
More people should ask him.
2:27:49
I choose to register independent because I don't feel represented by either major party, and I don't like to misrepresent myself.
2:28:00
I've been registered independent for about forty five of my seventy five years, but I still wanna be able to vote in important elections.
2:28:10
With roughly half the national electorate now registered independent, and it's even higher percentage amongst younger and newer voters, this is definitely something we need to address.
2:28:24
So I thank the commission for the opportunity to speak, and I urge you to consider democracy, fairness, and inclusion, and put this question on the balance for open, nonpartisan primaries that would let all voters vote at every stage of the process.
2:28:44
Thank you.