I was shocked when I moved to an open primary state. Having come from the left coast and the republic of fruits, nuts, and flakes I figured my new state would have more sense. Nope. I guess they don’t care who votes for whom.
Open primaries allow for mischief that is usually driven by some leftie disguised as a conservative.
I live in Virginia, an open primary State. Also, I am a County Republican Chairman.
Open primaries exist because establishment Republicans want independents and Democrats to vote in their primaries, as the winners are more liberal.
In Virginia, Senator John Warner won the open primaries when he was challenged. He would have lost his seat had the primaries been closed.
To close the primaries, we need to replace the liberal leaders in the State party organizations.
When I moved from Texas to NY, I was SHOCKED that I had to declare a party to register to vote. Then, I found out that, if you want to change parties, you have to wait a YEAR before voting in the new party.
Now back in Texas and getting my card stamped as to which party’s ballot I voted.
Pros and Cons to both - I guess I wouldn’t mind closed primaries if there was more mobility.