Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
Q&A
Debate on the effectiveness of closed primaries versus open/jungle primaries for voter turnout and participation
2:36:23
·
4 min
Commissioner Diane Savino engages with Cleo Acevedo, challenging the notion that the current closed primary system is effective, given declining turnout despite increased campaign finance matching and rising numbers of unaffiliated voters.
Savino points out that primaries in NYC are often decisive, disenfranchising over a million voters, and questions why a system that doesn't expand participation should be protected. Acevedo counters by citing California and Alaska data suggesting jungle/open primaries haven't significantly increased or have even lowered turnout, arguing the issue is a lack of appealing candidates and voter education/registration efforts, not primary structure. She also mentions confusion around ranked-choice voting as a factor.
Diane Savino
2:36:23
Just have a couple of questions.
2:36:25
First of all, Cormac, it's always good to see you.
2:36:27
You're, part of the traveling roadshow.
2:36:29
On I'm sorry.
2:36:32
I I missed your name.
2:36:33
I forgot Cleo.
2:36:34
Cleo.
2:36:35
Cleo.
2:36:35
There's an old expression in government that says this is the way it's always been done.
2:36:38
Right?
2:36:39
So when you look at our election system, this is the way it's always been done.
2:36:42
And here's what we found.
2:36:43
In the past forty years since the implementation of campaign finance reform, we were going to match low dollar contributions from people with a one to one match.
2:36:51
Then we did a two to one match.
2:36:53
Then we did a four to one match.
2:36:54
Now we're at an eight to one match.
2:36:55
And with each cycle, guess what?
2:36:57
Less people are voting.
2:36:58
Less people are participating.
2:37:00
Lower turnout, less of a and more and more people are disenrolling in the party.
2:37:05
You yourself said, and this is not targeted at you, I'm just rattling, that you were an unaffiliated voter and you now join the Democratic primary process.
2:37:14
You can vote in a primary.
2:37:15
The primary in New York City has now become somewhat almost akin to the general election.
2:37:20
And what that is doing is disenfranchising over a million New York City voters who have decided that they don't want to be part of a party.
2:37:27
They don't want to join.
2:37:28
And rightfully so, they shouldn't have to.
2:37:30
So I think the sit you're with Citizen Action.
2:37:34
Citizen Action is a con constituent organization or an affiliate of the Working Families Party, which is another party which spends most of its time trying to influence the Democratic primary process.
2:37:46
I know that because I was a founding member of the WFP in a previous life.
2:37:50
When I write my memoirs, I'll tell you all about it.
2:37:53
But that party exists for the sole purpose of pulling the Democratic party away, and they didn't want people enrolling as Democrats.
2:38:00
So I'm just trying to figure out why are we protecting a system which clearly does not work.
2:38:05
It does not expand the franchise.
2:38:07
It does not allow more participation.
2:38:09
We're spending more money getting lower turnout, and we're not having a true discussion about the issues that matter to all New York City voters, not just people who belong in small subsets of political parties.
2:38:21
And you don't have to answer that.
2:38:23
I just felt I had to, you know, answer put those questions to you guys, so maybe you could think about that as we move forward.
2:38:29
Doing things the way they've always been done has gotten us nowhere in this city, whether it's in voting or housing or a whole host of other things.
2:38:37
Now I'm gonna If
Cleo Acevedo
2:38:38
you don't mind, I would like to answer.
2:38:40
Yep.
2:38:40
So the fact is actually California, since 2012, has adopted jungle primaries, what we call nonpartisan primaries.
2:38:48
Right?
2:38:49
But according to California's data, the turnout has stayed exactly the same for the past twelve years.
2:38:56
Right?
2:38:56
And so the reason why we're here is we're talking about voter turnout.
2:38:59
We're talking about the fact that people don't come out to vote, but we're blaming it on the fact that, oh, it's because people aren't unaffiliated and they don't wanna come out to vote.
2:39:08
But what if the case is just because there's just simply aren't candidates who are actually listening to what the community is talking about?
2:39:14
Great.
2:39:15
And then we have Alaska as well who adopted open primaries in 2022.
2:39:20
In twenty twenty four primary election, turnout was reportedly the third lowest in fifty years according to the Alaska Beacon.
2:39:27
The data out of Alaska points to the conclusion that jungle primary elections do not actually have an impact on turnout, and if they do, it actually lowers it.
2:39:37
So the problem here isn't that we have people who aren't affiliated to parties.
2:39:41
The problem here is right now, we're in Hospice Community College just located in The Bronx.
2:39:45
The Bronx has had the lowest voter turnout in the previous primary elections.
2:39:49
The reason why is because we aren't registering people to vote.
2:39:53
We aren't educating people.
2:39:54
And, also, we just recently introduced ranked choice voting in the previous elections, which is also confusing, especially to some folks who may not speak English and may not understand what they're looking at.
2:40:05
My organization has done the due diligence to actually go about and provide training to these people, but that's not enough.
2:40:11
What needs to be done is actually making it fairly accessible to people to vote, making sure that people have access to the information and understanding what ranked choice voting means, how what it means to actually be registered in a party.
2:40:24
And if you don't wanna be registered in a party, that's perfectly fine.
2:40:27
But you shouldn't you shouldn't be able to vote in a primary election that impacts that party representation.
2:40:33
We're we're living in a representative democracy.
2:40:37
Is that not the point?