Chapter 10 An Affirmative Case for the Top-2 Primary

Chapter 10 An Affirmative Case for the Top-2 PrimaryOver the past several years, election reform in general and primary reform in particular have enjoyed considerable momentum.As Chapters 7, 8, and 9 of this volume discuss, reform advocates have scored major victories in states like Maine and Alaska, as well as major cities like New York City, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and St. Louis-to name only a few.With Americans increasingly dissatisfied with the polarization and conflict that characterizes modern politics, the moment seems ripe for adopting reforms that might improve accountability linkages and rein in extremism.Nevertheless, during the 2024 elections, reform efforts encountered some noteworthy setbacks.While the Top-4/Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV) system in Alaska survived a challenge, reform efforts in states like Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and South Dakota all fell short (Lieb 2024).Given the recency of these defeats, researchers and commentators still have considerable work ahead to better explain why these efforts failed.However, more than a few analysts have expressed fears that these failures share a common factor: a sense that electoral reform is now perceived as a left-leaning cause du jouror, worse, a liberal ploy to influence election outcomes.Inasmuch as voters hold such a position, however misguided, reform efforts are likely to face serious headwinds in the future-especially in Republican-leaning states.This is especially problematic, given that the majority of U.S. states are majority Republican.How, then, might primary reformers proceed?While reformers may well find ways to repackage reforms like RCV and improve public perceptions, I make a case here that one successful, existing reform-the Top-2 primary-deserves a more prominent place among reformers' preferred systems.As I detail below, the Top-2 primary exhibits effectiveness against extremism, operational reliability and practicality, and political feasibility, rendering it an excellent and underappreciated choice for primary reform moving forward. Effectiveness: The Top-2 Meets its AimsLargely speaking, the stated goals of the Top-2 when introduced in Washington were similar to those cited in other reform efforts: reformers sought to reduce polarization, enhance accountability, and increase participation.Reformers in