THE GENERAL ELECTION IS NOT THE ONLY ELECTION THAT MATTERS.

VAULT · CAN I SPEAK TO THE MANAGER?

Published by Langhorne P. Breedlove

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2026 · 2:06 AM ET

Reading time: 8 minutes

Tags: Closed Primaries · Election Reform · Ranked-Choice Voting · Party Rights · Ballot Access

Dear fellow American proletariat: America tells its citizens that elections are how the people choose their representatives. Then, in some states, it invites voters to the preliminary election and explains that they cannot participate unless they first join the correct political club. The general election is open, of course. By then, some of the most consequential choices may already have been made.

That is the question behind closed primaries: who gets to help select the people appearing on the November ballot? Opening a primary can broaden participation. But political parties also have constitutional associational rights, election administrators face real costs, and changing the way finalists are selected does not automatically create more competitive races. The case deserves more than the comforting slogan that democracy should simply be 'more democratic.'

ROOTS · THE PRIMARY WAS A REFORM ITSELF

Before the twentieth century, political parties often selected nominees through conventions, caucuses, and internal organizations. Primaries expanded as a response to concerns about party machines and closed-door nominations. The National Conference of State Legislatures documents the resulting variety of systems; states did not settle on one national model (Source 01).

Today's categories include closed, partially closed, open to unaffiliated voters, partially open, open, and multi-party primaries. A closed primary ordinarily requires party membership; an open primary permits voters to choose a party ballot without first registering with that party. A top-two or top-four primary instead selects general-election finalists regardless of party nomination (Source 02). Those are different systems, not interchangeable names for one reform.

WHO GETS LOCKED OUT?

In a closed primary, an unaffiliated voter generally cannot help nominate a party's candidate without registering with that party under applicable deadlines. Pennsylvania, New York, and Florida are among the states NCSL classified as closed-primary states in its May 2026 summary (Source 02). Rules differ for presidential contests and sometimes for offices within the same state, so the label alone is not a substitute for checking the actual ballot.

Defenders of closed primaries argue that the membership of a political organization should control its nominees and that restrictions discourage strategic participation by political opponents. Critics argue that taxpayers may administer elections in which independent voters have little or no meaningful participation, and that decisive choices can occur before the general election in districts dominated by one party.

Neither argument establishes how many independent voters would turn out under a different system. That requires actual voter-registration figures, turnout history, candidate competition, and analysis of the particular state law.

THE CONSTITUTION ALSO PROTECTS POLITICAL ASSOCIATION

On June 26, 2000, the Supreme Court held in California Democratic Party v. Jones that California's blanket partisan primary violated parties' First Amendment associational rights. That system let voters choose among all parties' nominees while requiring parties to accept the outcome as their own nominations (Source 03). The ruling does not mean every nonpartisan multi-candidate primary is unconstitutional.

A different arrangement survived review in Washington State Grange v. Washington State Republican Party in 2008: Washington's top-two system advanced candidates based on votes received, without automatically making either finalist a party nominee (Source 04). Ballot design and whether a candidate's stated party preference implies party endorsement remain important legal details.

A federal proposal must therefore distinguish a party's right to select its own nominee from a state's choice to organize a nonpartisan qualifying election for public office. Legislators cannot resolve that question by calling their preferred system 'open' and assuming the First Amendment has gone for lunch.

ALASKA'S EXPERIMENT

Alaska adopted top-four primaries and ranked-choice general elections in 2020. In the top-four stage, voters choose one candidate and the four leading candidates advance, regardless of affiliation; the general election uses ranked ballots with rounds of elimination when no candidate initially wins a majority (Source 02).

A November 2024 ballot initiative sought to repeal those reforms. After a recount, the repeal failed by 743 votes: 160,230 supported repeal and 160,973 opposed it, according to certified results summarized by Ballotpedia (Source 05). The close result documents a divided electorate, not proof that the mechanism was an unquestioned success or failure.

Other states reached different decisions that year. Voters in Colorado, Idaho, and Nevada rejected proposals combining broader primaries with ranked-choice general elections (Source 06). Reform proposals should confront those outcomes directly rather than treating any unsuccessful vote as evidence that the public did not understand the question.

RANKED CHOICE IS A COUNTING METHOD, NOT A RELIGION

In a typical single-winner ranked-choice election, voters rank candidates. If no one earns a majority of continuing first-choice votes, the last-place candidate is eliminated and ballots are reassigned to their next available ranked choice until a candidate meets the winning threshold. Rules for exhausted ballots, overvotes, ties and reporting must be specified in advance (Source 07).

Advocates argue that ranking can reduce pressure to vote strategically and allow voters to express preferences among more candidates. Critics raise concerns about ballot comprehension, longer tabulation, public trust, equipment costs, and the possibility that some ballots exhaust before a final round. Whether it changes moderation, participation, or the success of smaller parties is an empirical question that varies by context.

Top-four primaries and ranked-choice voting can be paired, but they are separable design choices. An open party primary can operate without ranking; ranked-choice voting can operate without a top-four primary. The public deserves to know which reform is being proposed, rather than discovering after the election that someone changed three rules at once.

WHOM DOES REFORM SERVE?

Opening participation may expand choice for unaffiliated voters. But a top-two system can also leave general-election voters choosing between candidates of the same party, while minor-party candidates may find it harder to reach November (Source 02). Ranked-choice systems can present more alternatives in the final election but require voter education and reliable tabulation.

A good evaluation asks whether voters can participate, candidates can qualify, ballots are understandable, and results are independently auditable. It also asks what happens in heavily one-party districts, low-turnout primaries, rural jurisdictions, and elections with little voter information.

THE LEGAL AND FINANCIAL QUESTIONS

States establish most primary procedures subject to federal constitutional requirements and federal election statutes. Party associational rights constrain particular mandates. A national reform would need precise congressional authority, litigation analysis, and coordination with state election officials. Presidential nominations involve separate party and state arrangements and should not silently be included under a rule designed for congressional offices.

A ten-year fiscal assessment would distinguish first-year ballot redesign, voting-machine certification, accessibility testing, election-worker training, voter education, recount capacity, cybersecurity, and litigation from recurring election costs. It should compare existing administration with at least two reform alternatives and measure actual voter experience, not assume that greater turnout or faster counting automatically pays for the change.

Without identified jurisdictions, eligibility standards, voting equipment and transition schedules, a national ten-year cost estimate is not defensible. Claims about moderation, reduced polarization and lower campaign spending similarly require comparative studies and careful causal interpretation.

WHAT THE EVIDENCE DOES & DOES NOT SHOW

NCSL documents that primary rules vary significantly by state (Source 02). The Supreme Court decisions establish meaningful constitutional distinctions (Sources 03, 04). Alaska's certified 2024 referendum outcome demonstrates that public opinion about its system was closely divided at that time (Source 05). None of those facts alone proves that a nationwide top-four or ranked-choice system would produce a particular partisan outcome.

American Proletariat's related Justice proposal, Top-Four Primaries & Ranked-Choice Elections, is an institutional design proposal rather than current nationwide law. Its merits and shortcomings should be considered against alternatives such as opening party primaries to unaffiliated voters, improving ballot access, modifying candidate filing rules, or creating nonpartisan qualifying elections.

WHY IT MATTERS

The public does not choose only on Election Day in November. The earlier nomination stage can determine which names have a credible path to office. An unaffiliated citizen may pay taxes toward administering an election yet find the decisive nomination process closed to them. At the same time, a political party can reasonably assert that it should not be compelled to accept its rivals as the people who choose its standard-bearer.

The problem is to create an election system with fair rules, meaningful participation, transparent counting, lawful party rights and outcomes voters can understand. That requires choosing and defending an actual design. A democracy cannot be repaired by replacing one confusing invitation with another and printing the word ACCESS in larger type.

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SOURCES & FURTHER READING

01 · National Conference of State Legislatures — Changes to State Primary Elections Since 2000, updated May 6, 2026. https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/changes-to-state-primary-elections-since-2000

02 · National Conference of State Legislatures — State Primary Election Types, updated May 19, 2026. https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/state-primary-election-types

03 · Supreme Court of the United States — California Democratic Party v. Jones, 530 U.S. 567, June 26, 2000. https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/99-401

04 · Supreme Court of the United States — Washington State Grange v. Washington State Republican Party, 552 U.S. 442, 2008. https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/552/442/

05 · Ballotpedia — Alaska Ballot Measure 2, 2024 repeal initiative; recount and certified totals. https://ballotpedia.org/Alaska_Ballot_Measure_2%2C_Repeal_Top-Four_Ranked-Choice_Voting_Initiative_%282024%29

06 · Ballotpedia — Results for Ranked-Choice Voting and Electoral System Ballot Measures, 2024. https://ballotpedia.org/Results_for_ranked-choice_voting_%28RCV%29_and_electoral_system_ballot_measures%2C_2024

07 · National Conference of State Legislatures — Ranked-Choice Voting, election procedures and tabulation. https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/ranked-choice-voting

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WE ARE ONE.  ·  E PLURIBUS UNUM.