Plus, Sen. Murkowski touts Alaska’s nonpartisan primary elections



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Hi Friend,



We are at a defining moment in America’s political history: the federal
indictment of a former president for allegedly using "unlawful means" to
attempt to subvert an election.



The indictment itself
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of the fragility of our democracy and the threats to free and fair elections ––
but also the courage of those who put principle over party.



Part of the charges invoke President Trump’s actions on January 6th to
pressure Congress and the Vice President to reject electoral votes. It’s also
worth recalling a specific weapon Trump employed in this pursuit:partisan
primaries
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. As he told his supporters on the National Mall that morning: “You have to get
your people to fight … We have to primary the hell out of the ones that don’t
fight. You primary them.”



Accountability and reform must go hand in hand.





Next week: A critical moment for direct democracy in Ohio
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Next Tuesday, Ohio voters will weigh in on a ballot initiative that has
significant implications for democracy. If passed on August 8, Issue 1 would
make it much harder for Ohioans to pass ballot initiatives. Specifically, it
would raise the threshold for citizens to pass ballot initiatives from a simple
majority (more than 50%) to a supermajority (60%). The 50% requirement has been
in place for over a century.



The ballot initiative process, sometimes called “direct democracy,” is a
critical tool voters have to pass popular policy when politicians fail to act.
This process is especially important when it comes to election reform, since
politicians can be reluctant to make changes to the system that put them in
office — even if it’s better for voters.



In recent years, there’s been an uptick in attacks on this process. According
to our national partnerRepresentUs
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late last year, politicians in 11 states have proposed at least 64 bills that
would make it harder for voters to pass ballot initiatives. Last year, voters in
South Dakota
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andArkansas
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rejected attacks on direct democracy.



On Tuesday, Ohio voters have a chance to do the same. Our local partner No on
Issue 1, One Person One Vote <[link removed]> has been leading the
in-state opposition to Issue 1. For more information about the campaign andhow
you can get involved <[link removed]> in the final days, check
out their website <[link removed]>.


 


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Sen. Lisa Murkowski touts Alaska’s nonpartisan primary as a promising model
for the country
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Alaska’s Republican senator recently appeared on PBS’ Firing Line with
Margaret Hoover <[link removed]> to talk about the state
of politics in 2023. A good chunk of the interview was focused on Alaska’s
top-four nonpartisan primary, which was music to our ears. When asked if she
thought Alaska’s top-four nonpartisan primary could be a good model for the
country, Sen. Murkowski was crystal clear: “Yes.”



“I said during our election last year we want to make sure that how Alaska
proceeds with ranked choice is demonstrated as a good model, one that other
states will look at and say, we like, we like the voice that ranked choice
gave. We like the fact that candidates were actually perhaps a little bit more
civil to their opponents, when I knew that I needed to get Margaret’s second
place vote. So I’m not going to trash talk her in our debates or in my public
encounters because I want to pick up some of that support, too. ... But I think
what we demonstrated in Alaska was the possibility that electoral reform can
happen and it can deliver outcomes that are less partisan and perhaps less
politically rancorous.”
 

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Alaska is one of four states that has solved the Primary Problem
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favor of a nonpartisan primary system. Over the past year, we’ve published
research on the impact of reform inLouisiana
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andCalifornia
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. In both cases, nonpartisan primaries have had positive impacts for voters in
both states, including a decrease in polarization and an increase in meaningful
voter participation. We’ll soon publish the third installation of thePrimary
Solutions Series focused on Alaska. Stay tuned!





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Nick Troiano in The Hill: “No Labels and its critics miss the point”
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In our previous edition of Three Things, we gave you our thoughts on the
simmering drama around No Labels — a bipartisan group exploring a run for
president in 2024. Last week, our Executive Director Nick Troiano penned an
article inThe Hill
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that explains why we need to focus on building an election system that gives
voters better choices.



The whole piece is well worth a read, but I want to direct your attention to
this passage in particular:



“On one thing, both sides should agree: Our presidential election system is
broken. No Labels would not face such daunting odds, nor would their opponents
have as much reason for concern, if we had a level playing field that
facilitated more competitive elections capable of producing more representative
outcomes.”



Check out the full op-ed here
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.
  


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Finally, I wanted to remind you that Unite America is hiring! To learn more
about the jobs, head to thecareers page of our website
<[link removed]>. And please forward to any people in
your network who might be interested!




Ross
__
Ross Sherman
Press Director, Unite America

DONATE <[link removed]>





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