I am a Black woman and an independent voter, who grew up in the 1960s in the segregated neighborhood of “colored” South Philadelphia, where decades earlier W. E. B. Du Bois knocked on tenement doors to chronicle the hard life of the Philadelphia Negro. As a New York City doctor, I see health disparities in marginalized communities and know how important it is for all communities to be equally included in our democracy.
There are 1.2 million independent voters in New York City, almost half of them are under age 40 and 54.5% of them are voters of color. That amounts to 148,770 Black, 234,130 Asian-American, and 282,687 Hispanic voters shut out of primary elections that effectively determine who will govern their neighborhoods, schools, housing, and safety.
Our closed primary system disproportionately excludes voters of color and young people who are increasingly choosing not to affiliate with a political party. Voters have a fundamental right not to join a political party and that right is violated when voting is conditioned on joining one. This is a civil rights and voting rights crisis about access to political power.
Primary elections are not private club elections. They are publicly funded, publicly administered elections that determine public offices. Yet participation is restricted by party rules.
We have seen barriers to voting before in American history: systems that appear procedural on their face, such as registration rules or eligibility requirements, limit access to political power. The Black community has led the fight for equal voting rights, and the expansion of voting rights must keep pace with a changing electorate.
In 1776, only property-owning white men could vote. It took a Civil War and the 15th Amendment to extend voting rights to African-American men, though for nearly a century poll taxes, violence, discrimination, and literacy tests kept many from exercising that right.
After decades of organizing, the 19th Amendment expanded the franchise to women in 1920. In 1965, the Civil Rights Movement secured the Voting Rights Act, removing barriers that denied African-Americans access to the ballot. In 1971, the voting age was lowered to 18, recognizing that young Americans also deserved a voice in our democracy.
Today we are confronting a political backlash against voting rights and civil rights. The U.S. Supreme Court has undermined the Voting Rights Act, paving the way for greater voter suppression and restrictive voter identification laws.
To quote a law review article “Let All Voters Vote: Independents and the Expansion of Voting Rights in the United States,” co-authored by the late Michael Hardy of the National Action Network, “The recognition of the rights of independent voters is a new frontier in the civil rights/voting rights struggle.”
Progressive elected leaders must confront voter suppression and disenfranchisement by lifting the barriers to voting for all, including for independent voters. Mayor Mamdani should instruct his Charter Revision Commission to place an initiative on the ballot to open our primary elections to unaffiliated, independent voters.
Political independence carries deep meaning. To me, one of the most powerful examples of that independence was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s willingness to challenge the Democratic Party and President Lyndon B. Johnson when he spoke out against the Vietnam War. King delivered his “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence” speech at Riverside Church in Harlem on April 4, 1967, and was assassinated exactly one year later.
Your vote is your voice. Let us strengthen our democracy by ensuring every voice is included.
Fields is a Harlem community doctor and board member of Open Primaries, a national election reform organization.