| State | VAP | # Candidates | TBD | TBD |
|---|
Only 4.2% of all eligible Arizona voters cast ballots in primaries that effectively decided 77.8% of the state's U.S. representatives.
So far only 3.6% of all eligible Arizona voters have cast ballots in primaries that will effectively decide 77.8% of the state's U.S. representatives.
That’s because partisan self-sorting has created “safe seats” in which the winner of the primary is all but guaranteed to win the general election. The result? A small, unrepresentative group of Arizona voters determine the outcome of the majority of the state’s elections.
This cycle, the primaries in Arizona will similarly determine the outcome in 7 of 9 (77.8%) of the state’s Congressional districts making the primary election the only election that matters in most of the state.
We can solve the primary problem by replacing taxpayer-funded partisan primaries with a single, nonpartisan primary open to all voters and all candidates. Four states have already done just that.
Candidates are rewarded for representing all of their constituents, every voice is heard, and all votes matter.
The Primary Problem report uses new data and aggregates existing research to identify what's wrong with our primary system and how it can be fixed to put voters first.
