NJ Independent Voters Excluded Again

I did not vote in the New Jersey Primary.

Why?

I am an Independent.

I refused to be forced or tricked into joining a party in order to be able to vote. My tax dollars pay for the primaries. Most of our elections are decided in the Primaries. #LetAllVotersVote

There are 2.4M unaffiliated voters in our state—more than there are registered as either Republican or Democrat.

We are not complacent, “swing,” or undecided voters. We are not inactive voters. We simply refuse to declare allegiance to a party in order to exercise our right to vote.

The problems with the recent Vote by Mail process in New Jersey have been covered extensively. Mail in Voting is a good reform. It was a great opportunity to invite New Jersey's independent voters to fully participate. That did not happen.

Instead, independents were mailed an "Application for Vote by Mail Ballot." That application had to be returned before we could receive a ballot. We had to receive and return the actual ballot by July 7th. Many people did not receive the application in time to request a ballot. Independents that requested a ballot had their registration changed to one of the parties automatically.

It was a cynical and undemocratic attempt to trick independents into changing their party registration.

If you care about voter participation, voter's rights and fair electoral process, support Open Primaries.

One voter, one vote should be the standard, with no party affiliation necessary.

New Jersey practices taxation without representation by barring independent voters from the polls. The time for change is now.