Can Independents Vote in U.S. Primaries?

Across 16 closed primary states, registered independents lack the right to vote in congressional primary elections. State parties can establish rules to permit independents to vote in their primaries, but this is rare. 

According to publicly-available voter registration statistics, there are just over 16.6 million registered independents who lack the right to vote in primary elections in these 16 states. Further, there are more than 1.8 million voters in closed primary states who are registered with a minor party and are also barred from participating in the major parties’ primaries. A total of 18.4 million registered voters lack a right to participate in taxpayer-funded major party primary elections for congressional and state offices.

The vast majority of these 18.4 million voters are not just shut out of primaries. Because the vast majority of congressional districts in closed primary states were “safe” in 2024, most of these voters were effectively left without any voice at the ballot box. The primary election was the consequential contest, and given they couldn’t participate, they were denied both fair representation and a mechanism to hold elected officials accountable.  

Presidential Primaries and Caucuses

The problem with closed primaries is even worse at the presidential level. While 16 states have closed congressional and state primaries, an additional seven states — for a total of 23 — hold closed presidential primaries or caucuses. The same rules apply as described above: Independents do not have a legal right to participate in these contests, and their ability to do so is based on the whims of political parties. 

In these 23 states, there are over 24.4 million registered independent voters. There are also about 3.6 million voters registered with minor parties who cannot vote in the major party nominating contests. Combined, a total of 28 million registered voters do not have the right to participate in major party presidential primaries or caucuses.

To learn more about independent voters and the problem with closed primaries, check out The Unite America Institute's 2024 report, "Not Invited to the Party Primary."

‍

‍