A voter-led initiative headed to the November ballot aims to fix Arizona’s Primary Problem, give voters better choices
A mere 4% of Arizona voters elected 78% of its U.S. House seats in last week’s primaries, according to a new analysis from Unite America Institute. Arizona’s “Primary Problem” is largely the result of uncompetitive general elections — just two out of nine districts in the state are considered competitive, according to The Cook Political Report.
To fix Arizona’s Primary Problem, a bipartisan coalition led by Make Elections Fair Arizona is working to qualify an initiative for the November ballot that would abolish party primaries and replace them with a single all-candidate primary. In open all-candidate primaries, which four states currently use for state and federal offices, all candidates compete on one ballot and every eligible voter can participate.
Last month, Make Elections Fair Arizona turned in more than 580,000 voter signatures in support of the initiative — far more than the 383,923 valid signatures required — and expect a decision on qualification in the coming weeks.
Nick Troiano, Unite America Executive Director and author of The Primary Solution, issued the following statement:
“Arizona is Exhibit A for the Primary Problem this week, but Arizona voters are also showing us that party primaries are the most solvable problem in politics. We’re inspired by the 580,000 Arizonans — and 1.5 million voters across six states nationwide — who have signed on in support of open primaries and fairer elections this year.
“With a record number of initiatives to abolish party primaries on the ballot, this November is a historic opportunity to give voters better choices and a vote that actually matters in picking our leaders.”
2024 has already set a record for the most election reform ballot initiatives since the early 1900s. Including Arizona, as many as nine could ultimately qualify — seven related to primary reform alone. Open or all-candidate primary initiatives are already on the ballot in Idaho, Nevada, South Dakota, and Washington, D.C.; and similar initiatives in Montana and Colorado are on track to qualify in the coming weeks.
