Politics with Paul
Politics with Paul
Approachable, nonpartisan, and nonideological analysis of various political topics by nonpartisan political analyst, writer, researcher, and speaker Paul Rader.
Paul Rader
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Politics with Paul #39: Open Primaries w/ Guest Sila Avcil

E40 • May 6, 2025 • 71 mins

New Mexico is the latest state to shift away from a closed primary in its elections, the primary election type where only members of a party can vote in that respective party's primary. Now, voters not affiliated with a party can vote in either the Democratic or Republican Primaries for the first time in the state's history. Playing a major role in that shift is today's guest Sila Avcil, the executive director of New Mexico Voters First and New Mexico Open Elections. She discusses the effort to implement semi-open primaries, including why this specific format, nitty-gritty details of New Mexico's state legislative process, her case for the open primary, and whether this could trigger more states to move away from the closed primary. Thank you to Sila for coming on the show!

Key Points

  • Open primaries in New Mexico will allow independent voters to participate in either Democratic or Republican primaries without changing their registration, which Sila argues promotes broader voter inclusion.
  • The effort to pass the open primaries bill in New Mexico required strategic planning, coalition-building, and navigating both bipartisan support and opposition, ultimately succeeding after a decade-long push.
  • Unlike the usual attempt by states to push open primaries through state constitutional amendments, the New Mexico effort employed the state legislative process.
  • This legislative victory in New Mexico serves as a potential model for other closed primary states to pursue similar reforms.
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Speakers

Paul Rader

Host • 34%

Sila Avcil

Guest • 66%

Chapters

0:00
Introduction to Open Primaries
2:13
Sila Avcil's Journey to Open Primaries
5:24
How Long has New Mexico Been a Closed Primary State?
7:49
Criticisms of the Closed Primary System
11:55
Response to Arguments From Closed Primary Advocates
19:15
What Kind of Open Primary is New Mexico Now Going to Have?
24:37
Does New Mexico Now Have Sila's Ideal Primary System?
27:18
Is NM's New Primary System the End Goal or Just One Step?
29:46
Will We Start Seeing More Competitive Elections in NM?
34:42
The Legislative Process of the Open Primaries Bill: the Difficulty
37:52
The Legislative Process: Allies and Opponents
49:00
The Legislative Process: the Length of the Effort
53:42
The Legislative Process: Comparisons to Previous Legislative Efforts
1:00:28
Will Other Closed Primary Systems Follow New Mexico's Lead?
1:03:41
Final Thoughts About Open Primaries
1:05:00
Random Question of the Day: Places to Visit, and Closing

Transcript

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