All Arizonans should vote July 21, including independents

Jane Andersen

Submitted photo/Mormon Women for Ethical Government

2026 Elections

Independent Newsmedia is following this year’s local, county, state and federal races closely. Visit Arizona Voters Guide 2026 at yourvalley.net/arizona-voters-guide-2026 to read their coverage.

For election information, visit your community’s website, the Arizona Secretary of State’s website at azsos.gov/elections/election-information/2026-election-info, Maricopa County’s website at elections.maricopa.gov and Pinal County’s website at pinal.gov/258/Elections.

OPINION — Like many Arizonans, I spent the Fourth of July gathered with my family — all dressed in red, white and blue — watching the fireworks and reflecting on the significance of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

I feel such enormous appreciation for the freedoms I enjoy and for the sacrifices of those who worked over the last 250 years to create a more perfect union. But celebrating the great American experience cannot stop when the last firework has graced the sky. Gratitude for our country isn’t best expressed in one-day celebrations. Patriotism isn’t just a feeling; it involves action. 

When the Arizona Constitution went into effect on Feb.14, 1912, Article 7 Section 10 empowered everyday voters with the ability to decide who would be on the ballot for the general election: “The Legislature shall enact a direct primary election law, which shall provide for the nomination of candidates for all elective State, county, and city offices, including candidates for United States Senator and for Representative in Congress.”

The newly created Grand Canyon State rejected a primary system in which political bosses made backroom deals to determine the candidates on the November ballot. Our state Constitution enshrined the truth that each voter’s voice matters.

While I acknowledge there are imperfections in our current primary system, including the disparity in signature requirements for independent candidates and the influence of money in our politics, the role of each voter remains unchanged: Your vote in the primary election will determine the candidates for the general election.

And if you think your vote really doesn’t matter much, I urge you to reconsider. In 2024, only 31% of registered voters participated in the primary election. Participation more than doubled — to 78.5% — that year in the general election. Yet the reality is that in many of the state House and Senate races, the primary election essentially determines the winner of the seats. With fewer people voting in the primary, your vote in July carries even more weight than it does in November.

As of October 2025, nearly 34% of Arizona registered voters identified as party not designated — PND — or independent. Despite being the second largest group of voters in the state, only a fraction of independents vote in our primaries. Even though ASU professors Thom Reilly and Jacqueline Salit identified that independent voters are voting in the general election more than in the past, PNDs remain a disproportionately small percentage of primary voters.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. PND voters have until July 10 to request a mail-in ballot from the party of their choice or with identification they can vote in person. And, as a reminder, requesting a primary ballot will not change the party registration of PND voters. It’s time for independent voters to blow out those sparklers, request a primary ballot, and make a difference in the primary elections in 2026.

The Rev. Dr. David G. Latimore of the Princeton Theological Seminary recently stated, “Maybe at this mark of 250 years, the most faithful way to honor the American experience is neither to romanticize it nor to reject it, but to recommit ourselves to completing it.”

Whether you are a Republican, a Democrat or especially a party not designated voter, voting in the upcoming primaries offers each of us the chance to embrace our duty to elect our political leaders.

Early Arizona statesmen laid the foundation for citizen self-determination. Now that the barbecues are over and fireworks are done, it’s time to display a new kind of patriotism: primary patriotism.

Jane Andersen is the Arizona state director of Mormon Women for Ethical Government. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.