• Home
  • Opinion
  • Quizzes
  • Redistricting
  • Sections
  • About Us
  • Voting
  • Events
  • Civic Ed
  • Campaign Finance
  • Directory
  • Election Dissection
  • Fact Check
  • Glossary
  • Independent Voter News
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Subscriptions
  • Log in
Leveraging Our Differences
  • news & opinion
    • Big Picture
      • Civic Ed
      • Ethics
      • Leadership
      • Leveraging big ideas
      • Media
    • Business & Democracy
      • Corporate Responsibility
      • Impact Investment
      • Innovation & Incubation
      • Small Businesses
      • Stakeholder Capitalism
    • Elections
      • Campaign Finance
      • Independent Voter News
      • Redistricting
      • Voting
    • Government
      • Balance of Power
      • Budgeting
      • Congress
      • Judicial
      • Local
      • State
      • White House
    • Justice
      • Accountability
      • Anti-corruption
      • Budget equity
    • Columns
      • Beyond Right and Left
      • Civic Soul
      • Congress at a Crossroads
      • Cross-Partisan Visions
      • Democracy Pie
      • Our Freedom
  • Pop Culture
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
  • events
  • About
      • Mission
      • Advisory Board
      • Staff
      • Contact Us
Sign Up
  1. Home>
  2. primary election>

Primaryland is here

Debilyn Molineaux
https://www.facebook.com/debilynm/
https://twitter.com/debilynm?lang=en
https://www.instagram.com/debilynmolineaux/
April 27, 2022
2018 primary voters

Less than 20 percent of eligible voters participated in the 2018 primaries.

Mark Makela/Getty Images

Molineaux is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and president/CEO of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.

I call our current political environment “Primaryland.” What happens in the primaries will determine our direction as a nation. The general election merely makes that direction official. This is why we all need to plan our trip to Primaryland in the 2022 election cycle. Primaryland is less fun than Disneyland and more difficult to navigate, but it’s our responsibility to engage. Our children are depending on all of us to stand up for democracy. This year, it means voting in the primaries.

In modern usage, being primaried has meant that an extreme candidate will run in the party primary to knock out a moderate elected official, usually someone who has cooperated across party lines. And this phenomenon has increased the gridlock, toxic polarization and separate realities between the two political parties. As survival instincts among elected officials kick in, they move to more extreme views and are less willing to compromise issue positions. Why? To keep winning re-election. To be re-elected, they have to survive their party primary. Fewer than 20 percent of eligible voters in 2018 voted in the primaries, while everyone else waited for the general election. If we skip the primaries this season, we limit our choices in the general election.

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter


Now add in redistricting and the polarization is further increased. Following the intentionally disrupted 2020 census, every state has gone through a redistricting (or gerrymandering) process. The number of competitive congressional elections has decreased from 14 percent to 10 percent. If you live in a non-competitive district, like me, the real race is in the primary. Remember, 90 percent of congressional districts have been gerrymandered to be “safe” for one party or the other. This is not an exercise of whimsical fancy. It’s math.

The action for 2022 is in the primaries. The exhausted majority needs to show up.

Because I live in a safe Democratic district, I will have the most influence in the Democratic primary. If you live in a safe Republican district, the primary is where the choice will be made for who represents you in Congress.

I want my choice to be for the better candidate — not the lesser of two evils, as chosen by the more extreme primary voters. I’ve been an independent voter since I was 18, and this year will be the second time I have declared a party to vote in the primary. The first time was in the 2016 presidential primary. And I’m mad as hell that I have to register with a party to have my vote counted where it matters most.

It takes work for citizens to figure out when primary elections are being held (they are different for every state) and when to change our registration (deadlines vary by state, too). For instance, here in Maryland, I have 21 days before the primary election on July 19, 2022, to affiliate with a party and have my vote counted for Congress. On top of that, I have to submit an original signature, meaning a visit to the county clerk or mailing in the updated registration form — to arrive three weeks before primary day. Every state has its own laws, so you have to put in the work.

Of course, it’s not easy to find the data, change your registration and then change it back. But it is our duty and responsibility to be the most effective voters we can be. And that means taking the extra time, researching all the steps and verifying registration status, per state instructions. It’s the fastest way to stop the crazy in our politics.

There are so many barriers to voting, we will need dogged determination to make it through this election cycle. Will you join me in this dogged level of determination?

State by state primary dates are listed here.

State by state registration deadlines are listed here.

Please note that many registration changes will require an original signature. Allow time to walk or mail it in. Then continue to check online to ensure your voter registration has been updated. Verify, verify, verify.

No one wants to take the time out of our busy schedules with our jobs, families and other obligations. Think of it this way: Voting in the primaries is like buying insurance. We don’t want to pay for it, and hope we never have to use it. But when we pool our resources and need help, insurance is our best friend. Our nation needs us to pay the premiums by showing up in the primary elections.

Think of the cost if we do not. Our government is on life support. Our politics are poisoned. Will our inaction put democracy in hospice? Or might we start a rehabilitation process that only citizens can provide?

Long term, I’ll keep working to open primaries and better voting processes like ranked-choice or approval voting. But for now, we have a flawed system that can be navigated with tenacity. If democracy is important to you, I hope you’ll vote in the primary. It’s our best hope.

From Your Site Articles
  • Veterans are ready to join the fight for electoral reform - The Fulcrum ›
  • Report: RCV could save millions in Texas primary costs - The Fulcrum ›
  • Texas puts its new elections law to the test in 2022 primary - The ... ›
  • Jan. 6 votes show link between primary system, extreme views - The ... ›
  • Independent voters deserve a voice in primary elections - The Fulcrum ›
  • Primary voters head to the polls in Maine, Nev., N.D., S.C. - The Fulcrum ›
  • Trump and Hogan proxies headline Maryland primary eleciton - The Fulcrum ›
Related Articles Around the Web
  • primary election | Description, History, & Facts | Britannica ›
  • Primary election - Ballotpedia ›
  • 2022 State Primary Election Dates and Filing Deadlines ›
primary election

Join an Upcoming Event

The End of American Democracy? Session 3 of 3

Interactivity Foundation
Jan 25, 2023 at 2:00 pm EST
Read More

Democracy Happy Hour

Fix Democracy First
Jan 25, 2023 at 5:00 pm CDT
Read More

America’s Civic Education Gap: What Can Business Do?

Business for America
Jan 26, 2023 at 12:00 pm EST
Read More

STAR Voting Happy Hour

Equal Vote
Jan 26, 2023 at 6:00 pm PST
Read More

STAR 4 OR In-Person Canvasser Training – Eugene

Equal Vote
Jan 27, 2023 at 6:30 pm PST
Read More

STAR 4 OR Virtual Canvasser Training

Equal Vote
Jan 30, 2023 at 3:00 pm PST
Read More
View All Events

Want to write
for The Fulcrum?

If you have something to say about ways to protect or repair our American democracy, we want to hear from you.

Submit
Get some Leverage Sign up for The Fulcrum Newsletter
Follow
Contributors

Reform in 2023: Leadership worth celebrating

Layla Zaidane

Two technology balancing acts

Dave Anderson

Reform in 2023: It’s time for the civil rights community to embrace independent voters

Jeremy Gruber

Congress’ fix to presidential votes lights the way for broader election reform

Kevin Johnson

Democrats and Republicans want the status quo, but we need to move Forward

Christine Todd Whitman

Reform in 2023: Building a beacon of hope in Boston

Henry Santana
Jerren Chang
latest News

Family values and societal results

Debilyn Molineaux
12h

Transpartisanship and transformation

Brenda Marinace
12h

Podcast: Why we misunderstand independent voters

Our Staff
12h

The American experiment

Kevin Frazier
24 January

The Fahey Q&A with Jasmine Hull of Deliberations.US

Katie Fahey
Courtney Fiedler
24 January

Podcast: What does the House Speaker election say about the Republican Party?

Our Staff
24 January
Videos

Video: Meet the citizen activists championing primary reform

Our Staff

Video: Veterans for Political Innovation - Who we are

Our Staff

Video: Want to fight polarization? Take a vacation!

Our Staff

Video: Kevin McCarthy is Speaker, but he's got a tough job ahead

Our Staff

Video: #ListenFirst Friday End of Year

Our Staff

Video: Minnesota Gov. Walz asks fellow Democrats to ‘Think Big’ when it comes to fixing voting issues

Our Staff
Podcasts

Podcast: Why we misunderstand independent voters

Our Staff
12h

Podcast: What does the House Speaker election say about the Republican Party?

Our Staff
24 January

Video: Chaos or calm: Building confidence in Pennsylvania elections

Our Staff
19 January

Podcast: Pushing back against polarization

Our Staff
18 January
Recommended
Family values and societal results

Family values and societal results

Big Picture
Transpartisanship and transformation

Transpartisanship and transformation

Big Picture
Podcast: Why we misunderstand independent voters

Podcast: Why we misunderstand independent voters

Podcasts
image of Statue of Liberty and American flag.

The American experiment

Civic Ed
Jasmine Hull is Chief Operating Officer for Deliberations.US.

The Fahey Q&A with Jasmine Hull of Deliberations.US

Civic Ed
Podcast: What does the House Speaker election say about the Republican Party?

Podcast: What does the House Speaker election say about the Republican Party?

Podcasts