Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
TESTIMONY
Testimony by Jeff Aaron on the immorality of closed primaries
3:52:22
·
3 min
Jeff Aaron, a lifelong progressive activist, testifies that he has never registered as a Democrat or Republican and resents being cut out of the primary process.
He describes the pressure to temporarily switch his registration to vote in the recent mayoral primary as "immoral and creepy."
He believes local elections should not be partisan and that all people should be able to vote regardless of their party affiliation.
- Aaron has never been a member of the Democratic or Republican parties.
- He found the calls for him to temporarily change his party registration to vote in the primary to be manipulative.
- He quotes former Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, who said there isn't a partisan way to collect garbage, to argue that local elections shouldn't be partisan.
- He feels helpless being cut out of the decision-making process for a city he cares about.
David Green
3:52:22
You submitted testified testimony.
3:52:23
Go ahead.
3:52:24
Yep.
3:52:26
I thank you so much for being here this late.
3:52:29
I drove four and a half hours to be here.
3:52:30
I'm so glad to be able to testify.
3:52:31
This is awesome.
3:52:33
So my name is David Green, and I'm the statewide organizing director at Unite New York, which is an organization I'm proud to represent here today.
3:52:41
My past related experience all had to do with ranked choice voting.
3:52:44
I volunteered for the 2020 ballot initiative in Massachusetts where I used to live, then for three years as a national organizer at Rank the Vote.
3:52:51
I'm here today because I believe in a democracy that distills the needs and wants and desires of the public into the avatar of our representatives.
3:52:59
They're called representatives, you know, for a reason.
3:53:01
Unite New York, a nonpartisan grassroots organization, is building a movement for a better democracy by educating voters about five key reforms, ranked choice voting, term limits for statewide offices, allowing ballot initiatives at the statewide level, better ballot access for non major party candidates, and, of course, open primaries.
3:53:17
The thousands who support our work and our polling both prove that these aren't just necessary reforms.
3:53:21
They are popular, supported by upwards of 77% of New Yorkers statewide.
3:53:26
As you know, New York is one of only 10 states with a fully closed primaries, which means that 40 other states are ahead of us on this issue.
3:53:32
Back in Massachusetts, as an unaffiliated voter, I would walk in on primary day and choose whether I wanted a Democrat or Republican ballot.
3:53:38
It was fine.
3:53:40
Coming to live in New York, a self proclaimed pro democracy state, I was hit with a culture shock of 3,500,000 registered voters across the state, one in four voters, being entirely shut out of the primary process, over 1,000,000 of those here in New York City, including over half a million people of color.
3:53:55
So many people I've met on the street while canvassing here in New York City have felt coerced to register as a Democrat even if they were more progressive or more conservative just so they could have a say in the most important elections.
3:54:05
The commission's recommendation to add open primaries to the existing ranked choice system would go will go a long way towards creating a truly representative democracy.
3:54:13
Both the primary and the general election would be actually competitive and representative as candidates are incentivized to inspire the public at large with a policy vision for all instead of skipping over vast swaths of the population and catering to a small base for fear of being primaried.
3:54:26
Open primaries will help ensure that politicians are working for the people.
3:54:30
I wanna note that the commission's top two proposal is a big improvement to the system used in California and Washington state, which has had mixed results.
3:54:37
Incorporating ranked choice voting into the all candidate primary ensures the two candidates advancing to the general election actually represent as many voters as possible.
3:54:44
We can also preserve the major benefits of representation for women and for people of color as well as cross endorsements, from the current Frank Choice system.
3:54:52
Any candidate can join the race without splitting the vote or being told to wait their turn.
3:54:55
And as you noted in your report, this method of RCB combined with the top two was recently passed by referendum in Seattle, another major progressive city.
3:55:03
What's more, nationwide, the number of unaffiliated voters is growing quickly, especially among young voters.
3:55:07
52% of millennials and Gen Z voters and 55% of post nine eleven veterans do not identify with a major party.
3:55:14
Without open primaries, these voters are more likely to disengage from politics, lose their voice, and lessen the validity of our democracy.
3:55:20
In closing, on behalf of Unite New York's 15,000 members, I wanna thank the commission for their practical and common sense proposal for open primaries, and I just would encourage it to make our system work better.
3:55:30
Thank you.