Open Primaries Give Everyone a Chance

When I first heard about ranked choice voting, I was skeptical. Truthfully, I did not understand it. I have a knee jerk reaction (sometimes called a bias) to anything requiring an understanding of the math involved. I decided that any new idea deserved investigation and realized it was an answer to many voting problems.

I have been involved in numerous organizations, and I have been aware of disdain for “the good old boys’ network,” meaning both power and the status quo. Breaking into enough influence to change something is a frustration we grapple with throughout our lives. —Will our parents ever listen?

Governments offer their own challenges. Citizens of a democracy have the right to decide how a government runs. The number of people governed means there can be sizeable opposition. That opposition may only apply to one or two issues. The majority may also only apply to hot button issues. Less important issues are rarely given the public notice they deserve.

The electoral college was a compromise conceived to balance the population of free (mostly white) voters with the population including slaves (and women). It effectively limits third parties.  It is outdated and easily manipulated by election strategy. Some states never see campaign season visits by Presidential candidates.

Rank choice voting at local and state levels will permit more candidates to run with a party endorsement or as independents. They can govern according to conscious, not party platform. Political parties will still exist. Fundraising and efficient organization will be their strength, but it needn’t overwhelm the election.

Rank choice voting is an addition to open primaries. The usual practice in what is now called an open primary is allowing the voter to vote in a specific party’s election. The addition of ranked choice voting allows anyone to qualify for the ballot and run against the entire field. The voter chooses their favorite candidate for every office regardless of party. They also have a chance to vote for their less favored candidates in rank order or no other candidates.

When votes are counted, the ballots for the least favored candidates are scanned for second or third choices. Those votes are added to the total for those candidates. Eventually, the leading candidates are acceptable, if not the favorite, to all the voters. The main election can be between the two (or more) candidates with the highest approval. This process gives a voter two chances to express their preference.

Open primaries with ranked choice voting do not appeal to highly partisan political activists. They need to limit the choice of candidates. They are currently using class warfare and social/cultural/religious preference to eclipse complex issues for party choice. They recruit candidates by appealing to their desire for power. That partisan power can increase their wealth.

MAGA thinking appeals to a sense of being ignored by government. Every member of the movement has issues, but not all those issues are the same. People outside the movement have chosen their position because they strongly disagree with the solutions MAGA promotes.

All of us have the uncomfortable experience when a friend, our employer, our church, or our club assumes that we agree with something we don’t. Do we just go along and give the appearance we approve, or do we risk being cast aside because we express our beliefs?

Because it is impossible to imagine that everyone agrees on every issue in life, a democratic government depends upon giving its citizens all possible chances to express their opinions. The ultimate opinion goes in the ballot box, and it’s private.

Political parties are not evil unless they become coercive rather than supportive. There is true grief when we must say to friends, “I cannot support your ideas about this.” Many decades ago, we accepted that our attachment to a marriage partner can change over time. The same is true about how we believe we should be governed. Society must adjust to the lessons we continue to learn.

Voters who want to protect their ability to influence the political landscape will support legislation allowing open primaries and ranked choice voting.