Florida Democrats and No Party Affiliation (NPA) voters are strongly in favor of opening Florida's primary elections, according to a poll by Florida Open Primaries and the reform group Open Primaries and its Let Us Vote Campaign.
The poll, surveying 626 Democrats and 684 NPA's, found 93% and 96% support, respectively, from each group for "opening" things up in the Sunshine State. Florida is a closed primary state, meaning only a registered individual of a political party can vote in that party's primary elections.
"These poll results confirm that NPAs voting in the Florida Democratic primary would be a 'win-win' for both NPAs and the Democratic Party," said John Marvin of Florida Open Primaries. "The 3.4 million Florida NPAs would be able to vote in some of the most consequential elections -- elections paid for by their hard-earned tax dollars. The Democratic Party would have 3.4 million additional voters preferentially informed and engaged with Democratic candidates."
Furthermore, the poll found that 87% of Democrats and 80% of NPA's are in favor of a move by the Democratic Party to open its primary unilaterally. A similar 87% of NPA's and 83% of Democrats expressed a broader set of initiatives in support of primary reform, including legislation and acknowledgement of past efforts against primary reform, which ultimately shuts out NPA's from participating in Florida's primary elections.
“I am a Florida Democrat and have been active locally for 15 years. Closed primaries are unfair to independent voters who comprise about one-third of Florida voters. They pay for primary elections but can't vote," Lenny Gucknenheimer of Florida Open Primaries expressed. "The Democratic Party should open its primaries so that all voters can have a voice in choosing their elected leaders. Democrats and independents are aligned-an open primary will make the Democratic Party stronger.”
According to the Florida Division of Elections, there are approximately 3.4 million NPA's in the state. Another 4.1 million are Democrats, with Republicans at 5.5 million.
In line with the data, Florida Republicans have dominated in state and general elections. Gov. Ron DeSantis won his gubernatorial reelection by nearly 20 points over Democrat Charlie Crist, while Donald Trump won his return to the White House over Kamala Harris by 13 points in the 2024 presidential race.
“Florida is one of only 14 states that bar independent voters from the primaries- that means that 3.4 million voters are denied the right to vote in taxpayer-funded elections," National Organizing Director for Florida Open Primaries Cathy Stewart said. "As the polling results demonstrate, NPA voters and Democratic Party voters agree that the time has come for the Florida Democratic Party to act to open their primaries.”
Other states with closed primaries include New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Arizona.
Notably, several states in the southeast, including South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, have open primaries.
