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The ways that states hold party primaries may have profound implications for civility in all elected offices. The basic problem is that only the most committed voters on each side vote in primaries -- usually less than 10% of the eligible electorate. Given how many elected positions are "safe" -- meaning that one party is virtually guaranteed to win, this means that the primary is, essentially, the whole election. When elections are decided by primary voters, then less civil candidates have an advantage over more civil candidates.
Some of the issues/changes that might influene civility include: 1) Having open primaries, in which anyone can vote, as opposed to closed primaries, in which only people who have previously registered as being a Democrat or Republican, can vote in thier party's primary. 2) Instant Runoff Voting: people rank their several top choices, so candidates have an incentive to appeal more broadly, so that they are the second or third choice of many voters. This page is edited by ___________________ |
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