What Open Primaries Inc. does

Open Primaries Inc. is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit advocacy organization founded in 2008 and headquartered at 244 Madison Avenue, New York. It advocates for replacing closed partisan primaries with open primary systems across all 50 U.S. states, serving independent voters and reform-aligned constituencies that are excluded from closed primaries under existing state law. The organization is led by President John Opdycke and Senior Vice President Jeremy Gruber, with a small national field team that includes National Organizing Director Cathy Stewart and National Organizers David Cherry and Sila Avcil. It operates a sister 501(c)(3), the Open Primaries Education Fund, which conducts research and education aligned with the same reform agenda.

The organization's core activity is direct advocacy in support of state-level ballot initiatives, legislation, and litigation to open primary elections. It does not sell a product or service in the commercial sense; it is funded through donations and fundraising and reinvests contributions into state campaigns, coalition partnerships, litigation, and a newly launched spokesperson training program scheduled for 2026. Recent high-profile outcomes attributed to its work include D.C. Initiative 83 in 2024 (passed with 73% approval), New Mexico Senate Bill 16 in 2025 (which extended primary participation to an estimated 330,000+ independent voters), and a Nevada open primaries bill, alongside active litigation in Delaware and Pennsylvania.

Open Primaries pursues a three-track state strategy — legislative, ballot initiative, and judicial — and has expanded from a single-issue advocacy posture to a broader operational footprint that includes organizational training and voter-contact infrastructure consolidated through its 2024 merger with Primary Buzz. Geographic focus remains U.S. state-level, with active or pipeline campaigns in the District of Columbia, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon (2027 initiative in development), Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, signaling an increasingly multi-state presence built around a single reform mandate.

Name

Open Primaries Inc.

Legal name

Open Primaries Inc.

Website

https://openprimaries.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Open Primaries Inc. is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit founded in 2008 that advocates for open primary election reform across all 50 U.S. states through ballot initiatives, legislation, and litigation, serving independent voters and reform-aligned constituencies excluded from closed partisan primaries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Electoral Reform Advocacy

NAICS

Political Organizations (813940), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Human Rights Organizations (813311)

akta.pro primary industry

Electoral Support & Election Observation (BPADAGAA)

Keywords

• Electoral reform advocacy
• Open primary campaigns
• Voter rights organizing
• Election reform litigation
• Grassroots political organizing

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: As a 501(c)(4) nonprofit advocacy organization, Open Primaries generates revenue through donations from supporters who believe in open primary election reform. The organization also has an affiliated 501(c)(3) education fund (Open Primaries Education Fund) for educational activities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Open Primaries Inc. is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit advocacy organization that builds coalitions of activists, voters, and partner organizations to pass open primary election reform in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. It runs state-level campaign organizing, public education, media outreach, and litigation through its affiliated 501(c)(3) Open Primaries Education Fund. Its work targets the exclusion of independent/unaffiliated voters from taxpayer-funded primary elections.

Product overview

Open Primaries Inc. is a nonprofit political advocacy organization, not a technology product company. It does not offer software products, platforms, or technology services. The organization focuses on advocacy, education, and grassroots organizing to promote open primary election systems across the United States.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Let Us Vote: National campaign effort to empower independent voters and open America's primary system.
• Open Primaries Education Fund

Products and services

• Spokesperson Training 2026 A volunteer training program equipping supporters to become spokespeople for the open primaries movement, including a 2026 training cohort.
• Primary Buzz Virtual Discussion Series Virtual discussion series providing education and engagement opportunities for supporters of the open primaries movement, accessible via online registration.
• Open Primaries Education Fund Litigation Program Legal advocacy program run through the affiliated 501(c)(3) Open Primaries Education Fund, conducting litigation to challenge closed primary systems and defend open primary reforms.
• Let Us Vote Campaign National campaign and sub-brand empowering independent voters through statewide education and Get Out The Vote campaigns, including the Let Us Vote NM initiative.

Quantifiable outcome

• 330,000+ independent voters enfranchised through New Mexico SB 16 legislation
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Open Primaries Education FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliated 501(c)(3) organization that conducts educational activities separate from the 501(c)(4) advocacy work. Runs litigation efforts through the education fund. Website: openprimarieseducationfund.org
• Ballot PA ActioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPennsylvania-based partner organization working alongside Open Primaries on litigation to challenge the state's closed primary system. Jointly filing lawsuits to open Pennsylvania primaries.
• NM Voters FirstcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization working alongside Open Primaries on New Mexico open primary implementation and voter education efforts following the passage of SB 16.
• Campaign Legal CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFighting to pass and defend Initiative 83 in D.C. for open primaries and ranked-choice voting. Part of the coalition that successfully passed the measure with 73% voter approval.
• Voter FairnessmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOregon-based organization organizing to change state law to open primaries for 1.3 million+ voters. Refocusing efforts on the 2027 Legislative Session and 2028 election.
• Let Us VotecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCampaign that merged its newsletter with Open Primaries' Primary Buzz into a unified platform. Launched statewide education and GOTV campaigns including Let Us Vote NM and Let Us Vote campaign. Website: letusvote.org
• Independents4NJmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNew Jersey-based organization documenting independent voter exclusion in real time. Founder Sue Davies and independent leader Andrea Lekberg leading efforts to open New Jersey's closed primaries.
• Grow Democracy DCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerD.C.-based partner that led the coalition fight to pass Initiative 83, which established ranked-choice voting and open primaries in the District with 73% voter approval.
• Forward PartyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerInvited OP SVP Jeremy Gruber to address their national candidate training forum for a conversation on partisan gerrymandering and how candidates can speak honestly about it.
• Independent Veterans of AmericaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerHosted Open Primaries President John Opdycke at a candidate gathering to discuss the emergence of a more solutions-oriented brand of independent candidacy.
• Source NMminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOpen Primaries partnered with Source NM to expose a major implementation failure where nearly two-thirds of county clerk websites failed to inform independents of their new voting rights in New Mexico.
• Independent Voters of MarylandmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganizing 'Operation Independent on Primary Day' in Maryland, with activists gathering to raise awareness about 1 million+ independent voters being shut out of primaries.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• FairVote: FairVote is a leading nonprofit advocating for ranked-choice voting and primary reform, including open primaries. It pursues similar policy outcomes through research, advocacy, and state-level campaigns, making it a directly comparable peer in electoral reform advocacy.
• Let America Vote: Let America Vote is a voting-rights advocacy organization that campaigns against voter suppression and for expanded ballot access. It operates in the same civic-engagement advocacy space as Open Primaries, sharing grassroots organizing and coalition-building approaches.
• Issue One: Issue One is a bipartisan political reform nonprofit focused on reducing the influence of money in politics, redistricting reform, and election integrity. It overlaps with Open Primaries in the broader electoral-reform policy space and engages in similar state-level advocacy and coalition work.
• RepresentUs: RepresentUs is a nonprofit anti-corruption and electoral reform organization that campaigns for open primaries, ranked-choice voting, and redistricting reform. Its overlapping focus on primary reform and state-level ballot campaigns makes it a closely comparable peer.
• Unite America: Unite America is a nonprofit exclusively focused on open, nonpartisan primaries and ranked-choice voting, with active state-level ballot and legislative campaigns. It is the closest direct peer to Open Primaries, operating in the same policy niche with overlapping target audiences and similar coalition-based GTM.
• Stand Up America: Stand Up America is a progressive advocacy organization that campaigns on voting rights, election reform, and civic participation. It shares Open Primaries' grassroots mobilization, coalition, and policy advocacy methods in the democracy-reform space.
• Protect Democracy: Protect Democracy is a nonprofit focused on defending democratic institutions and norms, including voting access and election integrity. It overlaps with Open Primaries on democracy-reform advocacy through litigation, policy work, and public education.
• Campaign Legal Center: Campaign Legal Center is a nonpartisan election-law organization that litigates voting-rights and campaign-finance cases and is already an active partner of Open Primaries on D.C. Initiative 83. Its litigation-driven electoral-reform work is directly comparable to Open Primaries Education Fund's litigation strategy.

Broad incumbents

• Common Cause: Common Cause is a long-established, larger government-accountability and voting-rights nonprofit with a much broader mandate spanning campaign finance, lobbying reform, and election administration. It overlaps with Open Primaries on voting-rights and primary-reform advocacy but operates at significantly larger scale and scope.
• Brennan Center for Justice: Brennan Center for Justice is a major law-and-policy institute focused on voting rights, election administration, and reform. It is a broader incumbent in the same electoral-reform space with research, litigation, and policy advocacy that overlaps with Open Primaries' work, but operates at much greater scale and with a wider portfolio.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/open-primaries

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Open Primaries Inc.