Two perspectives on opening the Oregon primary to unaffiliated voters episode artwork

EPISODE · Apr 25, 2025 · 17 MIN

Two perspectives on opening the Oregon primary to unaffiliated voters

from Think Out Loud

The number of registered voters who choose not to be members of any political party is growing. In fact, in Oregon, the percentage of these voters is bigger than both registered Democrats and Republicans. But those who vote in the major party primaries are the ones that decide which candidates appear on the general election ballot that is open to all voters. While Oregon’s neighbors, Washington and California, have made changes to their primary systems to allow for more participation, Oregon voters have said "no" in the past to doing the same. Nonetheless, Rep. Mark Gamba, D-Milwaukie, is among the sponsors of HB 3166, which would scrap the closed primary system that only allows party members to vote. Gamba joins us to discuss how to best enfranchise non-affiliated voters (NAVs), along with attorney and political consultant Julie Parrish, who served four terms as Republican representative in the Oregon House.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Apr 25, 2025

Embed this episode

NOW PLAYING

Two perspectives on opening the Oregon primary to unaffiliated voters

0:00 17:18

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Think Out Loud?

This episode is 17 minutes long.

When was this Think Out Loud episode published?

This episode was published on April 25, 2025.

Can I download this Think Out Loud episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!