Alec Marken, a recent signer on the letter to DNC Chair Tom Perez is from Mission Viejo, California. “If the DNC thinks they can win an election without independent voters, they must not be paying attention. Hopefully they have learned from the 2016 election that rigging primaries and ignoring independent voters doesn’t work out well for any of us. It’s time to include independent voters is EVERY election, and independent candidates in EVERY presidential debate!”

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Barbara Patrizzi, a signer of the letter to DNC Chair Tom Perez and activist with Independent Pennsylvanians, said: “I really believe that with more than 40% of voters identifying as independents, we need to open up the primaries. So many people are dissatisfied with the two-party system. It’s great to see so many people engaged and wanting change in politics and working for that change. We need to take back that power from the parties.”

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Randy Fricke of Western Colorado Independent Voters announced an informational meeting in his local newspapers about the Eyes on 2020 campaign writing, “Our local Democrats and Republicans are good people, but they need to know that their parties can’t own the entire election system. All voters should own our election process and not the Democratic and Republican parties. Also, taxpayers need to stop paying for their primary elections. Why should citizens continue to subsidize these political parties? This should be unconstitutional.”

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