Skip to main content
H.R. 2655 114th Congress House

Open Our Democracy Act of 2015

Official title: To require all candidates for election for the office of Senator or Member of the House of Representatives to run in an open primary regardless of political pa… Show full official titleShow less

Official title: To require all candidates for election for the office of Senator or Member of the House of Representatives to run in an open primary regardless of political party preference or lack thereof, to limit the ensuing general election for such office to the two candidates receiving the greatest number of votes in such open primary, and for other purposes.

Introduced: June 4, 2015 See on congress.gov
Government Operations and Politics Commemorative events and holidaysCongressional districts and representationCongressional electionsCongressional oversight
More subjectsShow fewer subjects
Elections, voting, political campaign regulationEmployee leaveGovernment employee pay, benefits, personnel managementGovernment studies and investigations
Sign in to write a letter Sign in to watch
This bill died when the 114th Congress ended
It never became law before the 114th Congress (2015–2016) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jun 16, 2015
Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.
Jun 4, 2015
Referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform, the Judiciary, and Rules, 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 concerned.
Jun 4, 2015
Introduced in House
 Ask about this bill AI · grounded in the bill text

Have a question about what this bill does? Ask in plain English; the answer is drawn from the bill's actual text and official record, and it'll tell you when something isn't in the text rather than guess.

AI answers can be imperfect; always confirm against the full bill text.

 Latest action June 16, 2015

Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Open Our Democracy Act of 2015

Requires all candidates for election to the Senate and the House of Representatives to run in an open primary, regardless of political party preference or lack thereof.

Limits the ensuing general election to the two candidates receiving the greatest number of votes in the open primary.

Gives candidates the option, at the time of filing to run for office, to declare a political party preference, which does not constitute or imply endorsement of the candidate by the party designated.

Treats the general election day in the same manner as a legal public holiday for purposes of federal employment.

Expresses the sense of Congress that private employers should give their employees a day off on the general election day in November 2016 and each even-numbered year thereafter to enable them to cast votes in elections held on that day.

Directs the Government Accountability Office to study the procedures used by states to conduct congressional redistricting.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 5
 Cosponsors 1
All 1 Democratic 1
D
Peters, Scott H.
California · Jun 4, 2015
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 2655: Open Our Democracy Act of 2015. 114th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/114-HR-2655/
MLA
"H.R. 2655: Open Our Democracy Act of 2015." 114th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/114-HR-2655/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 2655, 114th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/114-HR-2655/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 2655: Open Our Democracy Act of 2015](https://openamerica.io/bill/114-HR-2655/)
Report a problem