Inherent to a representative democracy is the idea that we, the voters, can make a difference. We want to believe that this process by which we choose our representatives will lead to good things. We define good things as solutions to obstacles to success like cost of living, affordable housing, gas prices, interest rates, and crime, among many others. We are told to vote because that is supposed to be how we get solutions.
Is it working?
Elections advance us toward solutions only if they are designed to do so. Elections should be an opportunity to oust leaders who aren’t making a difference and choose someone we think will do better. But, in order for voters to wield this power of accountability, elections must offer choice and competition. In practice, they rarely do.
There is no real choice in elections.
An election where the two candidates are so opposite means that voters only see one acceptable candidate. Elections are more effective when ballots offer a choice between candidates with similar ideologies but different ideas about solutions.
Such a choice exists only in primary elections. The problem is that when a small number of one party’s voters weeds out palatable competition before the general election introduces those candidates to a wider audience, we end up with representatives elected by less than 10% of the voters in a district. Partisan primaries help major parties choose a candidate, but in about 60% of our Connecticut House elections and 40% of our state Senate elections, one party is so dominant that a nominee who wins their primary can put the champagne on ice, or even uncork it, long before single ballot is cast in the general election.
Without choice, voters have no recourse, no accountability.
There is no room for competition of ideas.
Incumbents win reelection at about 99%. They are rarely challenged which means that voters rarely have a chance to voice their approval or disapproval. This eliminates competition of ideas. Even within the party, incumbents are rarely held accountable. Only two sitting state senators were primaried this election. They both won. Of 151 House representatives, just five incumbents faced a primary. They all won.
Incumbents are winning in this system, but are voters winning?
With such odds in favor of incumbents, and with winners of elections determined in poorly attended partisan primaries, how do new candidates offer an option to voters? 46% of Connecticut’s voters are unaffiliated. These voters do not feel that either major party adequate reflects their political ideology. Where are the candidates that represent this large segment of our population? Our elections favor major party candidates and exclude a reasonable chance for victory for any candidate outside that system. This reduces competition of ideas.
When minor party or independent candidates do boldly set out of the shadows to present competing ideas, instead of being celebrated these candidates face barriers to entry and vilification by the major parties. The spoiler effect occurs when there are ideologically similar candidates on a ballot and the winner of an election may be a candidate who represents a minority point of view.
There are solutions to this problem and a very small handful of legislators have supported them. But members of both parties have repeatedly voted against, or refused to hold a vote on, reforms. By perpetuating pick-one elections, partisans who benefit from major party affiliation can keep the spoiler effect talking point alive. Increasing competition of ideas, without shifting representation away from the prevailing general ideology, is a critical step in providing voters with accountability and choice.
Parties are winning in this system, but are voters winning?
Voters need wins.
Systemic problems in our elections make it hard for voters to feel like winners. When it happens, we should celebrate it. A few days after the election, I went to a body shop and the lead mechanic sat down at his computer to draw up my quote. He is an older guy with an excellent reputation for honesty and for looking out for his customers. Looking over his shoulder as I waiting for the quote, I saw large photo of a GOP event and a message from a friend that said, “CONGRATULATIONS! You did it!” However I felt about the election results, I couldn’t help but feel happy for this guy. It’s nice to see people feel like winners.
Like the majority of this state’s voters, I don’t believe that Donald Trump is going to deliver on his promises to the working class. I have major concerns about how he will govern, and about the impact his policies. But we cannot ignore that a clear majority of Americans are so desperate for solutions that the status quo is unacceptable, so much so that voters overlooked charges of corruption, sexual misconduct, offensive “jokes,” and countless other things that made many of us reject Trump. Why? Because they are tired of waiting for solutions. They are tired of losing.
The power of voters is being undermined by partisan elections. Our democratic processes favor parties over people. Our ability to hold legislators is stymied by a lack of competition of ideas. Victories for voters are few and far between.
Americans are desperate for good things to come. To preserve democracy we need systemic reforms that will put value, in the form of competition and choice, back into elections. Voters need to win. Our current system centers around politics instead solutions. Elections advance us toward solutions only if they are designed to do so. This is urgent. A lot of voters are looking for a win and if the system is failing, blowing it all up, metaphorically, seems like a logical next step.
To fix the system, citizens must run for office to offer choice on the ballot. Activists must step up to fight for electoral reforms. Legislators must be part of the solution by advocating for change that helps voters win too. Donors must support reforms, not just candidates.
America has a long history of adapting political processes to solve problems. From nonpartisan primaries to increase the number of voters choosing our general election candidates, to giving voters the ability to rank candidates, there are ways to give voters elections that better reflect our values, allow them to hold legislators accountable, and offer real choice.
Let’s not stunt our democracy by clinging to a status quo in which voters rarely win.
Laura Del Savio lives in Redding.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
