This is indeed the primary problem.  There would be so much less polarization if primaries did not work the way they do, which is typically to push the most extremely partisan candidates to the top.

Ranked-choice voting ought to make some difference.

Elene

On Friday, October 11, 2024 at 01:59:30 PM MDT, Richard Mason via Action <action@mailman.swcp.com> wrote:



There are 435 voting members of the House of Representatives. But few of those districts — 55, to be exact — will be decided on Election Day, according to new data from the nonprofit organization Unite America. That’s because the vast majority of races were effectively decided during the primaries.

The research data goes deep into what Unite America calls the “Primary Problem,” in which few Americans are determining winners of House elections.

According to UA, 87 percent of House seats are “safe,” meaning they are noncompetitive and considered a lock to be one by the dominant political party. Voters still get to cast ballots in the general elections for those districts, but the candidates, the political operatives and the media already know how things will turn out because partisan gerrymandering has effectively guaranteed the outcomes.

_______________________________________________
Action mailing list
Action@mailman.swcp.com
https://mailman.swcp.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/action