As the political dust settles from the 2024 election cycle, advocates for nonpartisan primary reform are sounding the alarm: American governance is likely headed for even deeper division.
The warning follows a string of high-profile defeats for electoral reform across the country. During the 2024 elections, voters in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, and Oregon weighed ballot measures that would have dismantled traditional closed-primary systems in favor of nonpartisan contests. Despite significant campaigning, these statewide efforts failed across the board, leaving the current partisan structures firmly in place.
The Argument for Inclusion Organizations like Unite America have been at the forefront of the push for nonpartisan primaries. Their core argument rests on the idea of “taxation without representation” for the growing number of independent voters. By opening primaries to all voters regardless of party affiliation, advocates argue that the most “determinative” stage of the election—the primary—would become more representative of the general population.
Nick Troiano, Executive Director of Unite America, argues that these reforms are the only way to break the cycle of extremism. In most U.S. districts, the primary is the only election that actually matters due to lopsided partisan demographics.
A Warning for the Next Congress The failure to implement these reforms, combined with a dwindling number of competitive seats, has created a “perfect storm” for gridlock. Troiano suggests that the lack of competition in the 2024 elections will have a direct impact on how the next Congress operates.
“If you think dysfunction and division is bad right now in Washington, it’s going to get worse in the next congressional session,” Troiano warned.
His reasoning is rooted in the “Primary Problem”: when politicians only fear a primary challenge from their party’s extreme flank rather than a general election challenge from the center, they have little incentive to compromise or engage in bipartisan legislating.
The Road Ahead While the 2024 results were a setback for reformers, the conversation surrounding “all-party” primaries continues to gain traction. Supporters point to states like Alaska and Maine as successful models of how different voting structures can lead to more moderate, coalition-governing outcomes.
However, for the upcoming congressional term, the message from reformers is clear: without a change in how we choose our candidates, the American public should prepare for a legislative environment characterized by more “division” and less “competition.”
