I 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5334 
To require all candidates for election for the office of Member of the House 
of Representatives to run in a single open primary regardless of political 
party preference, to limit the ensuing general election for such office 
to the two candidates receiving the greatest number of votes in such 
single open primary, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 31, 2014 
Mr. DELANEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committees on 
Oversight and Government Reform and the Judiciary, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con-
cerned 
A BILL 
To require all candidates for election for the office of Mem-
ber of the House of Representatives to run in a single 
open primary regardless of political party preference, 
to limit the ensuing general election for such office to 
the two candidates receiving the greatest number of votes 
in such single open primary, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Open Our Democracy 
Act of 2014’’. 
SEC. 2. ELECTION OF MEMBERS OF HOUSE OF REPRESENT-
ATIVES THROUGH OPEN PRIMARIES. 
(a) RULES FOR ELECTION OF HOUSE MEMBERS.— 
A candidate for election for the office of Member of the 
House of Representatives shall be elected to such office 
pursuant to the following elections held by the State in 
which the candidate seeks election: 
(1) A single open primary election for such of-
fice held in accordance with subsection (b). 
(2) A single general election for such office held 
in accordance with subsection (c). 
(b) OPEN PRIMARIES.—Each State shall hold a sin-
gle open primary election for each office of Member of the 
House of Representatives in the State under which— 
(1) each candidate for such office, regardless of 
the candidate’s political party preference, shall ap-
pear on a single ballot; and 
(2) each voter in the State who is eligible to 
vote in elections for Federal office in the Congres-
sional district involved may cast a ballot in the elec-
tion, regardless of the voter’s political party pref-
erence. 
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(c) GENERAL ELECTION.—Each State shall hold a 
general election for each office of Member of the House 
of Representatives in the State under which the 2 can-
didates receiving the greatest number of votes in the single 
open primary election for such office (as described in sub-
section (b)), without regard to the political party pref-
erence of such candidates, shall be the only candidates ap-
pearing on the ballot. 
SEC. 3. ABILITY OF CANDIDATES TO DISCLOSE POLITICAL 
PARTY PREFERENCES. 
(a) OPTION OF CANDIDATES TO DECLARE POLIT-
ICAL PARTY PREFERENCE.—At the time a candidate for 
the office of Member of the House of Representatives files 
to run for such office, the candidate shall have the option 
of declaring a political party preference, and the pref-
erence chosen (if any) shall accompany the candidate’s 
name on the ballot for the election for such office. 
(b) DESIGNATION FOR CANDIDATES NOT DECLAR-
ING PREFERENCE.—If a candidate does not declare a po-
litical party preference under subsection (a), the designa-
tion ‘‘No Party Preference’’ shall accompany the can-
didate’s name on the ballot for the election for such office. 
(c) NO PARTY ENDORSEMENT IMPLIED.—The selec-
tion of a party preference by a candidate under subsection 
(a) shall not constitute or imply endorsement of the can-
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didate by the party designated, and no candidate in a gen-
eral election shall be deemed the official candidate of any 
party by virtue of his or her selection in the primary. 
SEC. 4. PROTECTION OF RIGHTS OF POLITICAL PARTIES. 
Nothing in this Act shall restrict the right of individ-
uals to join or organize into political parties or in any way 
restrict the right of private association of political parties. 
Nothing in this Act shall restrict a party’s right to con-
tribute to, endorse, or otherwise support a candidate for 
the office of Member of the House of Representatives. A 
political party may establish such procedures as it sees 
fit to endorse or support candidates or otherwise partici-
pate in all elections, and may informally designate can-
didates for election to such an office at a party convention 
or by whatever lawful mechanism the party may choose, 
other than pursuant to a primary election held by a State. 
A political party may also adopt such rules as it sees fit 
for the selection of party officials (including central com-
mittee members, presidential electors, and party officers), 
including rules restricting participation in elections for 
party officials to those who disclose a preference for that 
party at the time of registering to vote. 
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