The capital adopts ranked choice. The doors stay closed.
Washington, D.C. votes today using ranked-choice voting for the first time. But 86,000 independents are still locked out of the primary that will decide the mayor and the District's voice in Congress — even after a supermajority of D.C. voted for open primaries in 2024.
Ranked Choice, Closed Doors
A new ballot on the surface.
The same locked primary underneath.
Ranked choice changes how you vote — not whether you can.
D.C. is using ranked-choice voting for the first time, and it's drawing national attention. But RCV only reorders the ballot; it doesn't open the door. 86,000 independents still can't vote in the primary that effectively decides the mayor and the District's congressional delegate — even though a supermajority of D.C. voted for open primaries in 2024.
Each dot ≈ 1,000 shut-out independents. In a one-party city, the primary is the election — and a low-turnout, closed contest could hand the mayoralty to a DSA-aligned, Mamdani-style candidate (Janeese Lewis George), chosen by a sliver of the electorate.
Five Safe Seats, One Party
All five U.S. House seats are safe Republican.
The only votes that matter are cast in today's GOP primary.
A closed primary in a one-party state.
Oklahoma's closed primary bars nearly half a million independents from the only ballot that counts. With all five U.S. House seats safely Republican, November is a formality — the state's representatives are effectively chosen today, by the partisans allowed inside.
Decided By The Few
Senate primary runoffs — among the lowest-turnout elections on the calendar, where the most committed partisans dominate.
Trump → Moore
A low-turnout Senate runoff, where MAGA voters carry outsized weight. When few show up, an endorsement and base intensity can settle the race long before the general electorate is heard.
Trump → Collins
Same dynamic in Georgia: a contest that turns on intensity, not breadth. The most motivated partisans decide who advances — another test of the president's grip on low-turnout primaries.
The Other Way
A special primary today for Rep. Eric Swalwell's seat — under a system built for every voter.
Open, all-candidate primaries point the way out.
California fills the remainder of Eric Swalwell's term today under an open, all-candidate “top-two” primary. Every voter — independent, Republican, Democrat — gets the same ballot, and the system guarantees a majority winner. No one is locked out for declining to join a party. It's the clearest contrast on today's board with D.C. and Oklahoma.
Every dot votes. An all-candidate primary doesn't ask which team you joined — it asks who you want, then ensures the winner has majority support.
Ranked choice is a better ballot. An open primary is the franchise.
D.C. modernized how it counts votes but left 86,000 independents outside the room. Oklahoma shut out nearly half a million. The fix isn't complicated — it's the open, all-candidate primary California already uses. When the primary is the election, letting everyone vote in it isn't a reform. It's the whole game.