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The D.C. Council voted Tuesday to allow independents to vote in district primaries starting in 2028, more than 18 months after voters in the nation’s capital passed a measure in support of the change.
The council voted 9-2 to allocate $1.1 million toward semi-open primaries from 2027 through 2030. At-Large Councilwoman Christina Henderson, who is not affiliated with a party, introduced the amendment to add the funding to the 2027 budget.
The move comes less than a week after the high-stakes primary in D.C. saw councilmembers Janeese Lewis George and Robert White, both progressives, win the respective Democratic nominations for mayor and House delegate.
In November 2024, more than 72 percent of D.C. voters approved of Initiative 83, which had two parts. It proposed that the district adopt a ranked-choice voting system for its elections, starting in 2026, and open its primaries to voters who are not affiliated with a party.
As of the end of May, nearly 86,000 registered voters in D.C. were not affiliated with a party, according to the district’s board of elections. That accounted for 17.86 percent of the more than 481,000 registered voters in the capital.
Republicans, on the other hand, made up 5.11 percent of registered voters. In fact, Republicans have such a small footprint in local D.C. politics that the party does not have a candidate running for mayor — which made the Democratic primary the de facto general election.
While the D.C. Council approved funding to implement ranked-choice voting in July 2025, it elected not to open primaries to unaffiliated voters after outgoing D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) did not include funding for the initiative in her proposed 2026 budget.
Phil Mendelson (D), the chair of the council, wrote to D.C. CFO Glen Lee in 2023 that the semi-open primary portion of Initiative 83 would cost the district $930,000 in outreach efforts, changes to voter registration systems and election day needs, among other items, from fiscal 2025 through 2027.
Mendelson on Tuesday was one of two councilmembers to vote against allowing independents to cast a ballot in district primaries. Wendell Felder (D), who represents Ward 7, also voted against the amendment.
Lisa Rice, who initially proposed Initiative 83, said in a statement she was “thrilled” by the council’s vote on Tuesday.
“In an era of mass dilution of voting rights, this is a victory for our democracy in DC and across the country,” added Rice, the co-founder and CEO of Grow Democracy DC.
“DC voters have proven that, though democracy is not guaranteed, it can grow stronger if we never give up on fighting for it.”
Unite America, a nonpartisan group advocating for election reform, called the vote a “huge victory — but especially to the 86,000 independents who, prior to today, had no meaningful say in their representation.”
Add as preferred source on Google Tags Christina Henderson D.C. Council Janeese Lewis-George Lisa Rice Muriel Bowser Phil Mendelson Robert WhiteCopyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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