Skip to main content
H.R. 2981 115th Congress House

Open Our Democracy Act of 2017

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 22, 2017 See on congress.gov
Government Operations and Politics Commemorative events and holidaysCongressional districts and representationCongressional electionsElections, voting, political campaign regulation
More subjectsShow fewer subjects
Employee leaveGovernment employee pay, benefits, personnel managementHouse of RepresentativesPolitical parties and affiliationSenateState and local government operations
Sign in to write a letter Sign in to watch
This bill died when the 115th Congress ended
It never became law before the 115th Congress (2017–2018) 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
Jul 10, 2017
Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.
Jun 21, 2017
Referred to the Committee 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 concerned.
Jun 21, 2017
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 July 10, 2017

Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Open Our Democracy Act of 2017

This bill requires open primaries for elections for the office of Senator or Member of the House of Representatives, with general elections between the two candidates receiving the greatest number of votes in each open primary regardless of political party preference. The bill also makes Election Day (the Tuesday after the first Monday of November in even-numbered years) a legal public holiday for federal employees and requires congressional redistricting to be conducted by an independent state commission.


 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 4
 Cosponsors 1
All 1 Democratic 1
D
Peters, Scott H.
California · Jun 22, 2017
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 2981: Open Our Democracy Act of 2017. 115th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/115-HR-2981/
MLA
"H.R. 2981: Open Our Democracy Act of 2017." 115th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/115-HR-2981/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 2981, 115th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/115-HR-2981/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 2981: Open Our Democracy Act of 2017](https://openamerica.io/bill/115-HR-2981/)
Report a problem