The R Street Institute announced on March 11 its support for Delaware House Bill 188, which would allow unaffiliated voters to participate in the state’s primary elections. The testimony was delivered by Dr. Jonathan Madison, a governance fellow at the organization, before the House Elections & Government Affairs Committee.
The proposed legislation is significant because it seeks to include more than 200,000 unaffiliated voters—about 30 percent of all registered voters in Delaware—in the primary process. Currently, these voters are excluded from participating in primaries despite contributing to their public funding through taxes.
“HB 188 makes a meaningful but targeted change to Delaware’s existing primary election structure by allowing the state’s more than 200,000 unaffiliated voters to select a party ballot and participate in that party’s primary,” Madison said. He added that enabling broader participation could foster greater legitimacy and trust in election outcomes.
Madison also noted that increased participation might encourage candidates to appeal to a wider range of constituents, potentially resulting in stronger general election candidates who have demonstrated broad support. “HB 188 does not forcibly open primaries; instead, it offers a practical, administratively feasible path for unaffiliated voters to engage in determining who will be the party standard-bearer,” he said.
In his conclusion, Madison stated: “HB 188 provides Delawareans with the opportunity to become more involved in selecting their representatives. Moreover, it will improve Delaware’s primaries and competition, giving unaffiliated voters who are also taxpayers the meaningful participation they’ve been paying for all along. For these reasons, we respectfully encourage a favorable report of HB 188.”
