America's Primary Problem: Replacing Primary Elections with One National Vote Can Increase Competition and Empower Voters

The party primary system, rather than enhancing democracy, often results in a low-turnout race in which some voters are excluded by law, and the winner frequently does not have majority support of all voters in the district. In conjunction with ballot access rules that discriminate against new parties, the primary system prevents the development of effective political parties that could serve as a counterweight to the power of incumbency. This report outlines the faults of the party primary system and proposes alternatives, such as two-round systems, ranked choice voting.