John Opdycke — founder and president of Open Primaries, one of the leading organizations pushing to end closed partisan primaries — joins the Chuck Toddcast to make the case that the exclusion of independent voters is one of the great overlooked scandals of American democracy. Opdycke walks through the byzantine patchwork of voter and party registration rules that vary wildly by state, explains why so many independents sit out partisan primaries entirely, and argues that after 30 years of closed primaries the cumulative effect has been a system where the parties function as both the umpires and the players — a structure that simply doesn't work. He makes the bipartisan argument that tax dollars shouldn't fund the private nominating contests of what are essentially private organizations, and is pointedly critical of Democrats for actively fighting open primary initiatives.He notes that policies with 80% public support routinely fail to pass because voters don't actually have a meaningful say.

The conversation turns tactical and forward-looking, with Opdycke offering a sober assessment of the broader reform landscape and its persistent failures. He argues the ranked-choice voting movement has made serious tactical errors, that the party in power always fights ranked choice voting, and that the modern reform and independent movement suffers from a fundamental lack of a compelling public face — as well as from philanthropic funders who attach outcome expectations that distort the work. Opdycke is candid that third parties fare poorly in nearly every electoral system, that Ross Perot's Reform Party is now essentially a shell, and that the American people still don't trust the reform movement — but he sees real opportunity in specific fights, particularly mobilizing Florida's independents to change the law and pursuing top-two systems that would genuinely open the door to competition. He notes the striking statistic that 10,000 people per week are changing their voter registration, laments the general lack of curiosity (and polling) about who swing voters actually are, and argues there's meaningful left-right overlap among libertarians that reformers could tap. They explore whether the redistricting wars could create a backlash against the two-party system, why there are only about 25 competitive House districts left, and why several states are now actually moving back toward closed primaries. They close with a clear-eyed take on 2028: the reform movement needs a credible presidential candidate, and with 2028 shaping up to be a wild and unpredictable year, the opening for that kind of disruption may be wider than it's been in decades.

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Timeline:

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)

00:00 John Opdycke joins the Chuck ToddCast

01:45 Voter & party registration rules vary greatly by state

03:00 Why do so many independents sit out partisan primaries?

05:30 NYC Democratic party actively fought open primary initiative

07:00 There have been cumulative effects of 30 years of closed primaries

08:15 Voter apathy across the board for voting in primaries

09:00 Independents showing strong support for Open Primaries

10:45 Parties have every right to choose their candidates

11:15 Parties now are both the umpires and the players, it doesn’t work

13:00 There’s bipartisan arguments for not using tax dollars for private orgs

14:15 Why are Democrats fighting against open primaries?

16:15 Ross Perot’s Reform Party is basically a shell at this point

19:00 Independent voters are incorrectly understood as in the middle

19:30 Independents are moderate in temperament, not ideology

21:15 Politics post-Clinton/Gingrich designed to keep independents down

22:15 The modern reform/independent movement lacks a face

23:15 Philanthropic funders come with expectations of outcomes

24:15 Ranked choice voting movement has made serious tactical errors

26:30 Party in power always fights ranked choice voting

28:00 Exclusion of independent voters is a Jim Crow level violation of rights

28:30 Policies with 80% support don’t pass, voters don’t have a say

30:00 Third parties don’t do well in almost any electoral system

31:15 Swing voters are ignored until October

31:45 Which states offer best opportunities for a third party?

32:30 Independents require the Democrat to drop out in senate races

36:00 Could the redistricting wars create backlash to the two party system?

36:45 There’s only 25 competitive house district

37:30 Leaders in several states now looking to go back to closed primaries

38:45 The American people don’t trust the Reform movement

40:45 Mobilizing independents in Florida to change the law

43:15 There’s left-right overlap amongst the libertarians

44:45 There’s a lack of curiosity about independent/swing voters

46:45 10,000 people per week change their voter registration

47:30 We need a flood of polling and research about independent voters

48:45 What does success look like for Open Primaries this year?

51:45 A top two system would open up the door to competition

53:15 There are fewer “generic” candidates, much more variance

55:45 The Reform movement needs a presidential candidate in ‘28

59:30 Perot had to scare both parties to get them to make reforms

1:01:00 Have to creative in ‘28, it will be a wild year in politics