If we can draft fantasy football teams

Did you know that Pennsylvania has closed primary elections? That means that a voter must be a registered party member to vote in a closed primary.

In a Pennsylvania primary election:

If you’re registered as a Republican, you can only vote for Republican candidates.
If you’re registered as a Democrat, you can only vote for Democratic candidates.
If you’re registered as an Independent, you don’t get to vote at all!

Why does this matter?

Many people think it’s unfair. A group of citizens is suing to change the rules to allow independents to vote in primary elections. There are approximately 1.4 million independent and third-party voters who are currently unable to cast a ballot in primary elections. (For context, there are 3.8M registered Dems and 3.6M registered Reps, according to the Department of State). In short, a significant contingent of eligible voters in Pennsylvania is unable to vote in primary elections, and this number has increased steadily in recent years.
Many elections, particularly in areas that lean heavily toward one political party, are effectively decided in the primary election. If it’s clear that one party will win the general election, then not having a voice in the primary essentially voids an independent’s agency in that election.
Closed primary elections protect the power of the two main political parties while making it significantly more difficult for independent or third-party candidates to participate in elections.
The data is inconclusive, but some suggest that open primaries might lead to fewer extreme candidates because those who win the primary election cater to a broader base of potential voters. We could certainly use fewer extreme candidates if we can find a way to make that happen. Either way, the anticipated outcomes of elections shouldn’t inform our election process. We should have a process designed to maximize the number of eligible voters who can easily cast a ballot and participate in the democratic process. That’s the American spirit.

How do other places do primary elections?

There are many different models with varying degrees of “openness” and multiple-party involvement. This chart illustrates the various primary methods used by states across the United States. Local elections can also employ different techniques.

According to the nonpartisan National Conference of State Legislatures, Pennsylvania is one of only nine states that currently use the most restrictive process. 👀 We see you, friends in Delaware and New Jersey, also closing doors to your independent voters. Let’s do better.

The lawsuit does not specify a particular alternative to replace closed primaries. That would be open for debate and legislation.

What about ranked-choice voting?

As an aside, I’m a fan of ranked-choice voting (RCV). This voting practice lets you rank candidates in order of your preference. Anyone who tells you it’s too hard to figure out is peddling partisan bullsh*t. 🙄

We’ve been ranking things like 🎂 birthday gift wish lists, best friends in kindergarten, supreme cookie 🍪 flavors, the best kickball players 🏃🏻‍♀️ in gym class, and the boys we had crushes on in those MASH games 💘 (IYKYK) since we were kids.

If we can rank Saturday Night Live skits (this is #1 in case you’re curious), prioritize our Netflix queue, and draft fantasy football teams, we can wrap our heads around RCV.

We’ve got this, friends! 🫶🏻

PBS has a civics primer on RCV. RepresentUs offers another angle. And MPR News (below) has the best visual of how this system works. All three sources are nonpartisan supporters of robust democracy in the United States.