It is time that Connecticut moves in the right direction and opens up its primary elections to independent/unaffiliated voters. It is a good move for the voters of Connecticut who want to have their voices heard, it is good move for the parties as it will allow them to hear the voices of the independents that vote in general elections, and it is a good move for democracy as it will bolster voter turnout.

Public outreach leading up to a primary election is not sufficient - with the exception of those that will seek it out, potential voters will often miss this information unless they are tuned in to the right place at the right time. Further, to say nothing more than "we told you so" when voters are caught unaware and unable to vote is to evade the responsibility for the real root of this issue - Connecticut's closed primaries. Lastly, opening up Connecticut's primaries would be a good move for the Secretary of the State of Connecticut Denise Merrill and the good employees of her office, as they are faced with an impossible task. Despite their massive public outreach efforts, they were overwhelmed with constituent issues leading up to and on the date of Connecticut's presidential primary elections on Tuesday, April 26, 2016.

So to the legislators and other lawmakers of Connecticut - let's take responsibility for the issues that have occurred and change what we can to prevent these issues in the future. You have the power to make real change and, in doing so, make for a better democracy here in Connecticut. Let's open up Connecticut's primaries.