Shawn Griffiths
A group supporting nonpartisan open primaries in Florida recently released a new ad urging voters to vote "Yes" on Amendment 3 in November. Amendment 3 would replace the state's closed partisan primary system with a nonpartisan top-two primary similar to the statewide primary systems in California and Washington.
"There are 3 and a half million voters in Florida like me who don't belong to a political party, and we can't vote in the primaries," says one Florida voter in the video. "Ninety percent of races are decided in the primaries, and my tax dollars pay for them, but independents can't vote."
The ad was released on social media by Florida Open Primaries, a nonpartisan coalition of Amendment 3 supporters that includes members of the League of Women Voters and a new group of young Floridians called Students for Open Primaries. It is 100% driven by volunteers, according to the group.
Amendment 3 needs 60% of the vote to pass in November. It approved, Florida would be the first major battleground state to adopt nonpartisan open primaries.