THE PRIMARY SOLUTION

A bold proposal for significant political change.

In his debut book, Troiano, executive director of Unite America, a philanthropic venture fund that promotes nonpartisan election reform, argues forcefully for abolishing partisan primaries that allow participation only by voters registered as Republican or Democrat. These elections attract very low turnout by “tiny factions of voters on the fringes who are most likely to participate and the special interests that aim to influence them.” In 2022, 8% of voters in partisan primaries determined 83% of House contests. The author explores several options for reforming primaries to allow for better representation. “All registered voters,” he asserts, “regardless of their party affiliation, should have a say in choosing the final candidates for president.” Currently, 15 states block independents, and another 15 prevent cross-party voting. Louisiana, Washington, California, and Alaska, though, have abolished partisan primaries, and Troiano argues that adding six states to that roster would significantly reduce the “toxic levels of polarization” blighting the political landscape: “The twenty senators and dozens of House members from those states, roughly divided by party, would be liberated from the Primary Problem and no longer under the threat of being primaried by the fringes.” Politicians instead would aim to build support from the widest possible coalition. Troiano offers several models for election reform, including a change in electoral vote counting. In addition, he makes a case for a national primary day, which would follow a generous vetting period, so that early-primary states would not get disproportionate attention. The author draws on numerous studies as well as his experience as a congressional candidate (he ran as an independent in 2014) to make a strong case for “disentangling the process of nominating candidates, which should belong to the parties, from the process of electing candidates, including primaries, which should belong to the public.”

A fresh, timely political analysis.