Anticipating that efforts to close the primary in 2024 will intensify, MOVPC and Open Primaries are partnering to build awareness about this attack on democracy.

Denise Lieberman, Director & General Counsel at Missouri Voter Protection Coalition, and Jeremy Gruber, Senior Vice-President of Open Primaries, recently led a presentation and conversation on protecting open primaries in states where they are under attack.

In recent efforts to close primaries in 11 states, 10 did not pass, including bills introduced in Missouri's General Assembly. If all 11 states closed their primary, 25 million unaffiliated and independent voters would have been disenfranchised from voting and tens of millions more party voters would have been denied any meaningful choices at the ballot box. Ohio is in session through Dec. 31 and is considering three bills to require registration with a party in order to vote in the primary, effectively closing their primary.

LWVMO expects the Missouri legislature to consider similar legislation in 2024.