New campaign to revamp Arizona’s partisan primary election

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — A bipartisan group launched a campaign Tuesday to scrap the state’s partisan primary election system. The Make Elections Fair Act would ask the voters to create an open primary where anyone could vote on the same ballot regardless of their party affiliation.

Political consultant Chuck Coughlin, who is one of the proposal’s supporters, said the change would increase participation and produce candidates who have to appeal to a broader base of voters. “Let voters express their support openly and without barriers to participation, both on a candidate and voter level, and it’s going to be better,” Coughlin said.

Currently, independent voters make up the largest bloc of voters in Arizona. To participate in a primary, those voters have to take the additional step of picking a party and requesting a partisan ballot. Coughlin and his group will have to gather nearly 400,000 signatures to qualify for the November 2024 ballot.

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