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Nick Troiano

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    Voting

    Most congressional elections have already been decided – by just 8 percent of voters

    Nick Troiano
    November 07, 2022
    Texas primary voter

    Texas primary voters effectively decided the outcome of 36 of the state's 38 House races.

    Montinique Monroe/Getty Images

    Troiano is the executive director of Unite America, a nonpartisan organization focused on defending and reforming our democracy.

    Voters will head to the polls throughout Tuesday to choose who will represent them in Congress, on high-stakes issues ranging from inflation to abortion. Yet the vast majority of congressional elections were effectively decided months ago, by a small and unrepresentative sliver of the electorate in partisan primaries – depriving millions of general election voters of any meaningful voice.

    As a result, while which party will gain a legislative majority remains in question, we can be certain that the next Congress will be the most polarized and least accountable in our lifetimes, as this “Primary Problem” worsens with each election cycle.

    To have a bigger impact on who we elect, we must change how we elect. Partisan primaries should be replaced with nonpartisan primaries that give all voters a say in who represents them, regardless of party. Alaska recently became the fourth state to do so. Nevada may be next.

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    primary voting

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    Big Picture

    Court fight warning: Break the doom loop or it will soon break us

    Nick Troiano
    September 25, 2020
    President Donald Trump, Melania Trump pay respects to Ruth Bader Ginsburg

    President Trump and first lady Melania Trump pay their respects to the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Thursday. The looming fight over her replacement threatens further damage to our democracy, writes Troiano.

    Alex Edelman/Getty Images

    Troiano is executive director of Unite America, which promotes an array of electoral reforms and helps finance other advocacy organizations, and political candidates, with a commitment to cross-partisanship. (It is a donor to The Fulcrum.)

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    partisanship
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