Why New Jersey's Closed Primaries Led to Voter Apathy, Polarization and Gridlock

2004 and the Democratic Party starting after 2008, with unaffiliated registered voters increasing nationally by almost 63% (27% versus 44%) between November 2004 and April 2017, according to Gallup.

The majority who vote in closed primaries are hardcore partisans, with these primaries favored by both major political parties. In more cases than not, closed primaries result in nominees that are polar-opposites and with one gets elected to the political office, gridlock is the result.

Closed primaries raise a "Taxation without Representation" issue. Why do we, the taxpayers and voters, go on subsidizing the parties' closed primary elections? Why do we prop up partisan machines that so often give us unappetizing choices, leaving us with state and local governments prone to squelching of innovation, bad policy and gridlock?

Between October 2010 and April 2014 Rasmussen Reports ran several polls asking likely voters "Is it fair to say that neither party in Congress is the party of the American people?" The October 2010 poll resulted in 43% agreeing, 35% disagreeing, with 22% not sure. The April 2014 poll results were: 53% agreed, 28% disagreed, while 19% were not sure. Put another way, in April 2014 almost twice as many likely voters agreed that it was fair to say that neither party in Congress is the party of the American people! Unfortunately, Rasmussen Reports has not polled this issue for over three years, but it is doubtful that the results have improved.

If the majority of likely voters (which excludes those unlikely to vote) believe neither party in Congress is the party of the American people, is it any wonder that the United States experiences such low voter turn-out? The inability to have a say in the primaries cause many unaffiliated votes to suffer "learned helplessness" resulting in too many of them dropping-out of the electoral process, yielding low turn-out in general election.

Unaffiliated voters dissatisfied with politics as usual in New Jersey and wish to influence change within one party more than the other should seriously consider joining one of the political parties for election day and voting for the change they desire. This is the last thing either of the partisan machines wish to see happen, but may result in the needed political change necessary to bring about genuine open primaries in New Jersey.