Florida Democrats have been on a losing streak and are looking for ways to make a comeback. One of those could be to open up their democratic primary to other voters outside their own party.
Some Democrats are reporting that behind the scenes, Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried has been debating the idea of opening up their primary for the state’s 2026 elections. There are 3.4 million NPA’s that are not allowed to vote because Florida is a closed primary state.
Now, a new poll of Florida NPA and Democrats finds not only overwhelming support for such a move but also broad support for primary reform generally.
The poll, conducted by Florida Open Primaries in conjunction with national election reform group Open Primaries and its Let Us Vote campaign, asked 1,310 Florida voters ( 684 NPA voters and 626 Democrats) their views on several key aspects of Florida’s closed primary and the Democratic Party’s debate on opening their primary.
Key Findings:
● 96% of NPA’s and 93% of Democrats support a move to open all Florida primary elections to NPA voters.
● 80% of NPA’s and 87% of Democrats support the Democratic Party unilaterally opening its primary.
● 87% of NPA’s and 83% of Democrats support the Democratic Party adopting a broader set of activities in support of primary reform including legislation and acknowledgement of past efforts at opposing primary reform and shutting out NPA voters.
“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, 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,” said Cathy Stewart, Open Primaries National Organizing Director.
