New data from Unite America Institute shows how few Americans are determining election outcomes.
Even though general election turnout can be high, the number of votes that actually impact the outcome is quite low. This is because most districts are “safe” for one party or the other. With little competition, the dominant party’s primary determines the outcome.
We call this the Primary Problem.
Meaningful votes was developed by the Unite America Institute (UAI) to examine this problem from a voter-centric perspective. More than simply counting voter turnout, meaningful votes incorporates competition to reveal how many votes actually determined an election’s outcome.
Just 14% of eligible American voters cast a meaningful vote to elect the entire U.S. House of Representatives
Just 13% of voters cast a meaningful vote to elect the members of their state house of representatives.
States are divided into five categories based on their share of meaningful votes. States with meaningful votes close to the overall average (within one standard deviation of the mean) are considered "Average," while those with noticeably higher or lower scores (within two standard deviations) are classified as "Above Average" or "Below Average." States with meaningful votes significantly higher or lower than the rest (more than two standard deviations from the mean) are categorized as the "Highest Performers" and "Lowest Performers."
All-candidate primaries give all voters the freedom to vote for any candidate, regardless of party, in every taxpayer-funded election. They ensure not only that every vote is counted, but that many more votes matter.
The average percentage of meaningful votes in the four states with all-candidate primaries was 26%, twice as high as the 45 states with partisan primaries (12%). Following Alaska’s adoption of all-candidate primaries, the state’s share of meaningful votes increased from 22% in 2020 to 35% in 2022 – a 58% increase in the share of meaningful votes.
All-candidate primaries are the best investment states can make to ensure their elections are competitive, votes are meaningful, and the results truly represent the will of the people.
Move the sliders to see how all-candidate primaries in Alaska drive more meaningful votes to elect their state house than closed primaries in Pennsylvania.
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