Readers React: Millions of independents are left out of the primaries. That must change

To the editor: The power to determine which Americans may not participate in the presidential primary in any given state is improperly in the parties’ hands. This must be changed. (“Why both Trump and Cruz can claim to represent the majority of Republicans,” Opinion, May 3)

It is estimated that more than 40 million independent voters will have been excluded when the primary process is complete. Independents are taxpayers too, so they have to foot the bill for a process that often leaves them out.

Perhaps we should be consider what the group IndependentVoting.org recommends: building a movement for structural reforms that will open the process and give the people the power to take our country in a better direction.

That group’s leader, Jacqueline Salit, has said that this primary season has been about Americans’ anger at our failed system. The irony, she has said, was that both Democratic candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump gave voice to that anger, but both are pivoting to give that anger the only shape it can currently: another power struggle in the two big parties.

That leaves too many American people out in the cold. The time has come to explore alternatives to this broken process.

Jeff Gerber, Los Angeles

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To the editor: The options described by op-ed article writer Kevin Zollman would be revolutionary.

Imagine being able to vote for third-party candidates without having that vote feel wasted. With a ranked-voting system like the Borda method that Zollman describes or range voting, you could select Ralph Nader first, Al Gore second and be sure that your vote wasn’t the reason George W. Bush won.

David Wilczynski, Manhattan Beach

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