Fewer Americans believe their vote matters. Changing our primaries may help.

In the wake of the dispiriting June 27 Trump-Biden presidential debate, many Americans are asking how we got these two candidates — who the majority view unfavorably — as the Republican and Democratic party nominees. And yet, their nominations were all but locked up before most state primaries even took place, raising voter frustrations and increasing apathy.

It’s at least part of the reason why turnout here in Illinois' March 19 Republican and Democratic primaries sunk to a near historic low, as just 19% of eligible voters in the state bothered to cast ballots.

"I think a lot of people would prefer, like, different candidates for both [parties’ presidential nominations],” said Jason Sullivan, 22, of the southwest suburbs, while walking through the Daley Plaza Farmers Market at lunchtime recently. “I know a lot of Republicans hate Trump and a lot of Democrats hate Biden, so it's kind of unfortunate that's the way things turned out — but that's just how our country works these days."

And the lack of candidate choices extended far beyond the top of the ticket this year. An analysis by Capitol News Illinois found that nearly 90% of primaries for hundreds of judicial, county and legislative seats on the ballot in March had just one, unopposed candidate, or no one running at all. It’s the highest number of uncontested primaries in the state in at least 20 years, according to the news organization.

Are partisan primaries to blame for low voter interest?

Some election experts say that primaries themselves are a big part of the problem.

"Americans are exhausted by politics,” said John Shaw, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University. "They think the two parties have moved to the far right and the far left; don't speak to them."

Shaw said the problem is rooted in the redistricting process. In most states, including Illinois, the party in power draws the maps and they've gerrymandered congressional and state legislative districts to give their party an advantage. That means most candidates are easily elected and re-elected in the general election simply by having a “D” or “R” next to their name.

How does that change the way they campaign?

"Well, it means that all you really need to do is focus on the primary voters and you don't really need to appeal to the broad center," Shaw said,

That’s leading to calls for primaries that are more open and less partisan, as well as for other changes aimed at getting more people to feel that their vote matters.

The partisan nature of the primary systems is part of what kept Colleen Getz, 34, of Deerfield from voting. She said she and many of her friends don't vote in primaries because they don't identify with one particular party.

"Most people that I will ask, you know, or who describe their political views will say, 'I'm an independent.' Most people will say that," Getz said. "So I do think that it's divisive."

Indeed, a recent Gallup poll shows a record high percentage of Americans — 43% — now say they don't align with either Democrats or Republicans.

How are Illinois and other states opening up their primaries?

Primary elections are used by political parties to nominate candidates to represent them on the general election ballot. How primaries are conducted and who can vote in them varies widely from state to state.

Illinois has what’s considered a partially open primary. You can choose whichever party’s ballot you want, but then you can only vote for candidates from that party. And that selection is public record.

Voters in Illinois can opt for a nonpartisan primary ballot, but there are no candidates on it, just local referendums. Nonetheless, there was a significant increase in the number of voters choosing non-partisan ballots this year.

Open primaries by contrast, require no party registration or affiliation. Voters choose whichever party’s ballot they want and the decision is private. This system permits a voter to cast a vote across party lines in a primary election, and is used in 15 states including Michigan and Minnesota.

A small but growing number of states are experimenting with no-partisan or multiparty primaries. These are different in that they are not intra-party contests, but rather all candidates, regardless of their party affiliation, are listed on the same ballot.

California, for example, has a top-two primary system. All candidates for state offices are listed on the same ballot, with their party affiliation. The top two vote-getters in each race move on to the general election, even if they’re in the same party.

Open primaries may not be a quick fix

But some experts argue, open primaries don’t necessarily boost turnout or make candidates appeal to the middle.

"The candidates who win in open primaries are no more moderate than the candidates who win in closed primaries," said Lee Drutman, a senior fellow at the Washington, D.C-based think tank New America, who studies electoral reforms.

He pointed to this year’s U.S. Senate race in California, in which a progressive Democrat, Rep. Adam Schiff, and a far-right Republican, retired baseball player Steve Garvey, easily defeated more than 20 others on the ballot to emerge as the top two vote-getters who will square off in November.

"It's pretty clear that if you're looking to reduce partisan polarization in our politics and boost participation, open primaries are going to have zero impact and it's a waste of time and money to even pursue this as an approach," Drutman said.

Nonetheless, there are proposals this year in six states — Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada and South Dakota — to move to multiparty primaries.

Opening primaries through rank choice voting

Another way to open up the process that is gaining traction in a handful of states, including Illinois, is ranked choice voting.

“With ranked choice voting, instead of selecting a single candidate on the ballot, you would rank the candidates in order of preference, any order you like, first choice, second choice, third, third choice down the list, as many or as few candidates as you like,” explained Andrew Szilva, executive director of the nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy group FairVote Illinois.

Szilva said if one candidate gets more than 50% of the first place votes, that candidate wins. But if there is no clear winner, an immediate runoff takes place — the candidate with the fewest first place votes is eliminated, and their votes go to whomever their voter ranked second. If there’s still no clear winner, the process of elimination continues until one candidate finally gets over that 50% threshold.

Because candidates will want to win second and third choice votes, Szilva said they will broaden their appeal. And he pointed to the overwhelmingly red state of Alaska as an example, where moderate Democrat Mary Pelota topped former three more polarizing Republican candidates, including former governor and 2008 vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.

“We’re seeing that elections become more civil. So there’s this incentive for the candidate to not really bash the other candidate, ‘cuz if voters like that candidate number one, and I want to be their second choice, you sort of change the way you campaign,” Szilva said.

Szilva said ranked choice voting encourages more diverse candidates to run for public office and it boosts the chances of third party and independent candidates.

The new voting system has a lot of momentum. It’s already being used in at least 50 jurisdictions nationwide, including Maine and Alaska. Evanston will use it for city elections next year, and a task force will soon make recommendations on how it could be implemented in Illinois.

Whether it’s ranked choice, open or multiparty primaries, many experts and voters agree some change is needed to boost participation and give voters a greater say in who is elected to lead our government.

After he voted in the primary at Skokie Courthouse in March, Amar Minhaf, 35 of Kenilworth, said there’s a real cost to low voter turnout.

"I mean, it's the voices of a few making choices for many, at the end of the day, if not a lot of people are voting," he said.

The Democracy Solutions Project is a collaboration among WBEZ, the Chicago Sun-Times and the University of Chicago’s Center for Effective Government, with funding support from the Pulitzer Center. Our goal is to help our community of listeners and readers engage with the democratic functions in their lives and cast an informed ballot in the November 2024 election.