Get the Facts

You! This community is open to all American citizens, though you’ll probably get the most value out of it if you identify as an independent. Unlike what you may be used to in politics, this community believes that a competitive landscape of ideas makes our world a better place. We ask of you only two things:

1. Be respectful to those in the community.
2. Root your ideas in the best interest of all Americans. That means no hate based on someone’s race, sex, gender, religion, political identity, or just about anything.

We believe independent voters - ordinary folks - should be treated like first class citizens. Leaders in the two major parties believe they have a lock on political power. Right now, they’re right. But they shouldn’t. That power should live in the hands of ordinary citizens. We build the community that brings independents together in an empowering, community-driven space, and we organize events, rallies and online forums to advocate for the issues that matter most to them.

We believe that power in America should be rooted in the power of the vote. Party bosses have done everything in their power to control the outcome of elections, which means that most elections are determined long before November. American citizens have been fleeing the major parties for decades, and it’s time for democracy to catch up. We advocate for open primaries, so those citizens can vote in the all-important political primaries.

LetUsVote was launched as a joint effort between Open Primaries and Unite America. It’s largely organized day-to-day by Will Conway, the former National Organizing Director for the Forward Party, through his independent firm Conway Consulting. But the truth of it is this: ordinary citizens are behind LetUsVote. Will, Open Primaries and Unite America are building the empowerment tools to support you, but the work on the ground - and the key decisions - are made by grassroots leaders around the country. Want to participate? Join us!

We received a one-time startup grant of $250,000 from Unite America, a pro-democracy advocacy group. They might give us more, and you’ll be the first to know if they do. But our intention is to support this through ordinary citizens, with a target average donation of less than $200. We’ll report on our contribution breakdown at the end of every quarter (beginning in April 2024).

Open primaries take a few different forms, but they tend to mean that everyone has the right to vote in the political primaries that apply to their geographic location. In closed primaries, only registered party members can vote in a given primary, which means unaffiliated and independent voters aren’t allowed to vote in these important elections. 

Right now, 27 states hold some form of open primaries, while the remainder hold some form of closed primaries.

• Open primary states include: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin.
• Closed primary states include: Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota (no voter registration), Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, Washington
• States with a partisan primary and partisan voter registration include: Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Wyoming