By Andrea Lekberg
In New Jersey, more than a third of voters are effectively locked out of one of the most important stages of the democratic process.
Nearly 36% of registered voters in the state identify as unaffiliated, yet under the current closed primary system, they cannot participate in choosing party nominees unless they formally join a political party.
That means hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans—neighbors, coworkers, and taxpayers—are excluded from the elections that often matter most. In many districts, the primary effectively decides the winner, especially in safely Democratic or Republican areas. By the time the general election arrives, the outcome is often a foregone conclusion.
New Jersey’s electorate is changing. According to state data, unaffiliated voters make up a substantial and growing share of those registered to vote. Yet the state continues to maintain a system that forces these voters to either sit out primaries or temporarily surrender their independence just to participate. That is not a meaningful choice—it is an unnecessary barrier.
Opening the primaries would make New Jersey’s elections more representative and more competitive. Allowing unaffiliated voters to take part would expand participation and ensure that nominees reflect a broader cross-section of the public, not just the most committed party insiders.
It could also help ease the political polarization that has come to define much of American politics. In a closed primary system, candidates are incentivized to appeal to the most ideologically committed voters within their party. In an open system, they must reach beyond that base—speaking to independents and more moderate voters who often decide general elections. The result is more pragmatic campaigning and, potentially, more effective governance.
Opponents of open primaries argue that such a system could weaken political parties or invite strategic voting by members of opposing parties. But evidence from other states suggests these concerns are often overstated. The greater risk is maintaining a system that excludes a large and growing share of the electorate from meaningful participation.
New Jersey prides itself on being diverse, independent-minded, and civically engaged. Its election system should reflect those values. A democracy works best when more people have a voice in it—not fewer.
If the state wants elections that truly represent its people, it should start by opening its primaries.
Andrea Lekberg is a business owner and resident in Morristown. She ran for mayor as an Independent in November 2025—with no regrets.
Morristown has a long history of people stepping forward in pivotal moments.
When you chip in to Morristown Green, you’re helping your neighbors stay informed, strengthening our civic backbone, and carrying on the spirit that’s defined this town since its earliest days.
Rally for local news.
America has problems with many of its incentive systems. Closed Primaries are not just unfair, but they also represent an incentive system that fosters division, dysfunction, and dissatisfaction. A much better incentive system would be Single Ballot Open Primaries with the top four going to the general election and Ranked Choice Voting in the general election. This system would address the unfairness issue as well as doing a much better job at fostering broader representation as well as collaboration, effectiveness, and satisfaction. However, our two main political parties do not like these ideas because they shift some power from their power structures to us, to we the people.
This is a response to Darcy Draeger. Independents/unaffiliated voters are forced to join a party to vote in primaries. The Board of Elections considers NJ to be a closed primary state for this reason. We don’t have a seat at the table.
The fact that independents are forced to give up their independence in order to vote is not just a temporary and insignificant action. Can you imagine a Democrat being told that they have to give up being a Democrat (“just for a day”) and register to vote as a Republican to vote in the primaries? There would be an uproar if that happened.
Moreover, our tax dollars pay for the primaries. If the parties want to have primaries that don’t include all voters, then should pay for the primaries themselves.
People who choose to be independent are making a political choice. We are saying that we don’t want to be dictated to by the two parties. Being independent needs to be respected as a political commitment and not something that you can abandon for “just one day.” And, point of fact, it takes way more than 1 day to change back in most counties in our state.
More and more people are deciding to be independent. In the last 6 months, almost 85% of new registrants in NJ have elected to be unaffiliated/independent.
According to Gallup. 45% of the people in this country now identify as independents (compared to 27% who identify with each of the two major parties). 56% of Gen Z and 54% of Millennials identify as independents. Nationally, 52% of Latino voters, 41% of Asian Americans, 20% of African Americans, and nearly 40% of veterans are independents.
Most of our elections are decided in the primaries. It’s time to welcome independents AS independents fully into our electoral process.
Please sign our petition for open primaries and get involved in Independents4NJ(independents4NJ@gmail.com): https://forms.gle/XG39s2nC7cQ6dEE76
Darcy Draeger’s “correction of factual error” is completely accurate. It is a shame that unaffiliated voters do not participate in these primaries, because oftentimes that is where the election is won. In many cases the winner of the general election is predetermined if you live in a predominantly democrat (or republican) town or district. The reform that I would like to see here in NJ is for our state to move to a “jungle primary” as is done in California — where ALL candidates regardless of party are placed in a single primary, and the top two vote getters (regardless of party) move on to the general election. Take a look at the current elections in California where we see several tight races on who will make it through to the general election.
I agree with Ms. Lekberg that all New Jersey voters, regardless of political party affiliation, should be able to vote in primary elections.
I’d like to correct a significant factual error at the center of this piece. Unaffiliated voters in New Jersey can already vote in partisan primaries. A voter registered as unaffiliated can walk into any primary today and request a Democratic or Republican ballot. No pre-registration required. This is not a loophole or a reform still waiting to happen. It is current New Jersey law.
The voters actually locked out of primaries are registered Democrats trying to vote Republican and vice versa. That’s a legitimate debate. But it’s a different one than what’s being argued here, and the difference matters when you’re calling for structural reform of something that already exists.
Yes, casting a primary ballot affiliates you with that party. But once that temporary affiliation processes online, typically within a couple of days, the voter can go to the state’s voter registration portal and change back to unaffiliated. It takes a few minutes. The affiliation is functionally temporary for anyone who wants it to be.
This right is not widely known. Many unaffiliated voters assume they have no voice in June and sit out entirely. Publishing this piece the day before a primary, without that correction, means some of those voters stayed home today for no reason.
By all means, let’s discuss election reform. But let’s start from the reality that unaffiliated voters already have a seat at the table in New Jersey’s primary system.