Partisan primaries are a problem

Two autumns ago, we wrote a report and op-ed documenting the state of representation and democracy in Montana. To no Montanan’s surprise, we found our beloved Treasure State to be in poor political health, suffering in recent years from ever higher rates of uncontested elections, partisan vitriol, and ideological extremism. One of the key contributing factors to these political maladies is the partisan primary system our state currently uses to determine which candidates appear on the general election ballot each fall...