Shawn Griffiths
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The DC City Council had one final opportunity to fund a provision approved by 73% of city voters in November that would open primary elections to 83,000+ independent voters – and the Democratic-controlled body elected instead not to honor the will of voters.
Two weeks ago, the council voted 8-4 to fund the ranked choice voting provision in Initiative 83, which combined the reform’s use with a semi-open partisan primary system that requires registered party members to vote in their respective party’s primary, but gives independent voters the option to choose a party’s ballot.
In a one-party city like Washington, DC, this would give independent voters the opportunity to have a meaningful say in who represents them in city government. It’s worth noting that independents make up more than 3 times the registered electorate than Republican voters – who can vote in primaries.
Initiative 83 has been the subject of controversy in the nation’s capital. It has faced resistance from the Democratic Party at every turn:
- The Democratic Party filed multiple lawsuits against Initiative 83, even trying to get the courts to toss it before it had a chance to appear before voters.
- It was opposed by Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser, who then kept it off her initial FY2026 proposed budget.
- DC city council members like Democrat Anita Bonds said its implementation should be debated, despite overwhelming support from voters.
Now, the 13-member DC Council – composed of 11 Democrats and 2 independents – has refused to give independent voters a say in taxpayer-funded primary elections, despite a budget amendment from Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto that would have guaranteed funding for the 2026 midterms.
The amendment was defeated in a 6-5 vote.
“What a shame that the amendment CM Pinto just offered to implement the semi-open primaries component of Initiative 83 did not pass. 73% of voters -- 212,000 Washingtonians --made their will known,” tweeted Lisa D.T. Rice, who proposed Initiative 83. “Shame on those who voted no!”
Now, DC voters have to wonder what’s the point of their vote if the party in power refuses to honor it – or chooses only to honor the reforms they can live with? Is there a party in the US that actually stands for democracy, or will they only claim to “defend democracy” as long as they control the levers of elections?
Can democracy on the party’s terms even be called democracy? (I’ll answer this one – no.)
One DC voter responded to Rice on X, saying he was going to stay independent “so I guess my vote doesn’t matter again.” This sentiment rings true for many independents in closed primary jurisdictions because at the end of the day, they don’t want to join a party to vote and if they are told to – they just won’t vote.
And the parties and their leaders are okay with that because democracy isn’t what they are defending. They are defending their own control, their own power, and their own interests.