Voters in Idaho, Nevada, and South Dakota will decide on measures that would change how primaries work

Welcome to the Friday, June 7, Brew.

By: Mercedes Yanora

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

Voters in Idaho, Nevada, and South Dakota will decide on measures that would change how primaries work
Seven candidates are running for North Dakota’s At-large Congressional District, a 10-year high
#FridayTrivia: What states use ranked-choice voting in federal or state elections?

Voters in Idaho, Nevada, and South Dakota will decide on measures that would change how primaries work

Voters in three states will consider whether to change their nominating systems this November.

In South Dakota, voters will decide on a citizen initiative, Constitutional Amendment H, that would replace partisan primaries with top-two primaries for state executive, state legislative, congressional, and county offices. The state’s Republican Party currently uses closed primaries, while the Democratic Party uses semi-closed.

The organization, South Dakota Open Primaries, is leading the campaign and surpassed the 35,017 signature requirement. Election officials certified the measure for the ballot on May 21.

The group backing the Idaho initiative, Idahoans for Open Primaries, filed signatures with the secretary of state. The initiative would replace partisan primaries with open top-four primaries for Congress, state legislature, and statewide and county offices. It would also establish ranked-choice voting for general elections. Currently, the Democratic Party allows unaffiliated voters to vote in its primary. The Republican Party allows only voters registered with its party.

The Idaho and South Dakota campaigns use “open primaries” in their name, but the measures represent a new type of primary system separate from the historical use of the term open primary.

Nevada voters will take their second and final vote on a citizen initiative to adopt top-five primaries and ranked-choice voting for general elections, which would apply to congressional, gubernatorial, state executive, and state legislative elections. It was first approved in 2022 with 52.94% of the vote. Nevada currently has closed primary elections.

Legislative bills related to primary elections

Legislators across the country have introduced 40 bills that would change who may vote in at least some statewide primaries or caucuses.

Of these, there are three bills that would establish a “general primary” similar to Louisiana’s majority-vote system (one in Georgia and two in Rhode Island).
Three bills would allow voters to change their affiliation on the day of the primary.
Only one bill has passed a legislative chamber. The bill is from Rhode Island and would create open primaries.

Apart from these 40 bills, there are bills related to other aspects of primary elections. For example:

There are five bills that would establish ranked-choice voting for some statewide primaries, not including presidential.
There are two bills that would outlaw certain types of primaries (one each in South Dakota and Tennessee).
There are two bills in Tennessee that would move the state to “true open” primaries not requiring affiliation.
There is one bill that would change the threshold to win a primary election in Georgia.
There is one bill to study top-two primaries in Massachusetts.

Defining terms: The systems states use in primary elections

With new primary systems being proposed in several states this November, it’s a good time to look at how candidates are nominated. There are a number of systems currently in use:

Open primaries are a type of primary where voters do not have to formally affiliate with a political party to vote in its primary. In some cases, voters can declare their affiliation with a party at the polls on the day of the primary, even if those voters were previously affiliated with a different party. Open primaries are still partisan, meaning candidates appear on ballots according to their party affiliation. In 20 states, at least one political party conducts open primaries for congressional and state-level offices.

Closed primaries are a type of primary in which a voter must affiliate formally with a political party in advance of the election date in order to participate in that party’s primary. In 15 states and the District of Columbia, at least one political party conducts closed primaries for congressional and state-level offices.

Semi-closed primaries are a type of primary where voters that are not affiliated with a political party may participate in the partisan primary election of their choice. Voters who are affiliated with a political party are only allowed to vote in that party’s primary. In 14 states, at least one political party conducts semi-closed primaries for congressional and state-level offices.

Top-x primaries are a type of primary where all candidates regardless of party affiliation appear on the same ballot, and all voters regardless of party affiliation vote on the same ballot. These primaries have a multi-winner structure that advances the top-X number of candidates to the general election.

Currently, three states use a top-two primary system — California, Nebraska, and Washington. Alaska adopted a top-four primary system and ranked-choice voting in 2020 via ballot measure. An initiative to repeal the system has qualified for the 2024 ballot.

From 2004 to 2022, there were nine ballot measures related to primary election systems. Voters approved four and rejected five.

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Seven candidates are running for North Dakota’s At-large Congressional District, a 10-year high

Continuing our coverage of June 11 primaries, let’s dive into elections in North Dakota. The state is holding primaries for congressional, state executive, and state legislative offices. Voters will also decide on three ballot measures: one statewide and two local. General elections for local offices are also on June 11.

U.S. Senate

Incumbent U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R) is running for re-election. Cramer and the Democratic candidate are both running uncontested in their primaries. Cramer was first elected in 2018 with 55.1% of the vote.

U.S. House

Seven candidates are running for North Dakota’s At-large Congressional District, including two Democrats and five Republicans. That’s more than in the previous three election cycles. Two candidates ran in 2022, three candidates ran in 2020, and five ran in 2018.

Here are some other highlights from this year’s filings:

The number of candidates running for the U.S. House is also higher than any other year since at least 2014.

The district is open for the second time in the last 10 years.
Incumbent Kelly Armstrong (R) is running for governor of North Dakota. He was first elected in 2018 after Kevin Cramer ran for the U.S. Senate.
The Democratic and Republican primaries are both contested this year. One primary was contested in 2020 and 2018, respectively. No primaries were contested in 2022, 2016, and 2014.

North Dakota Legislature

There are 69 state legislative seats up for election this year. Eight incumbents (one Democrat and seven Republicans) are retiring. All eight of those retirees are state senators. Following approval of North Dakota Constitutional Measure 1 in 2022, an eight-year term limit for senators and representatives took effect on Jan. 1, 2023. The term limits were not applied retroactively.

From 2010 to 2022, there was an average of 14 retirements in each election cycle across both legislative chambers. The highest number of retirements was in 2022 (23) and the lowest was in 2020 (six).

There are 15 contested primaries, the second most since 2014. All 15 are Republican primaries. Out of a possible 94 primaries, 16% are contested. That is the second-highest percentage of contested primaries since 2014.

State executive

Seven state executive offices are up for election:

The only contested primaries are the Republican primaries for governor and lieutenant governor, and the nonpartisan primary for superintendent of public instruction.

Statewide ballot measures

Voters will decide on one ballot initiative. If approved, the initiative would prevent an individual from being elected or appointed to serve in the U.S. Senate or U.S. House if the individual would become 81 years old by Dec. 31 of the year preceding the end of their term.

Local elections

Municipal: We are covering the general election for city commission in Bismarck.

Ballot measures: We are covering two local ballot measures in Burleigh County:

North Dakota and three other states — Maine, Nevada, and South Carolina — are holding primary elections on June 11.

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#FridayTrivia: What states use ranked-choice voting in federal or state elections?

In the Wednesday Brew, we previewed Maine’s June 11 primaries. On that day, Mainers will decide primaries for U.S. House, U.S. Senate, and the state legislature.

Maine is one of three states that use ranked-choice voting (RCV), a system in which voters rank candidates by preference on their ballots, for federal or state elections. In 2016, voters approved the Maine Ranked Choice Voting Initiative 52.12% to 47.88%, allowing for RCV in congressional, state legislative, and gubernatorial elections. Although a series of legal challenges and legislation delayed RCV’s implementation in the Pine Tree State, it was first used in primary and general elections in 2018.

More states have now banned RCV in 2024 than in any other year. Five states — Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma — banned RCV this year. Voters in at least four states will decide statewide ballot measures related to RCV this November. In Nevada and Oregon, voters will decide on adopting the system. In Alaska, voters will decide on repealing the system they approved in 2020, while in Missouri voters will consider banning RCV.

A variety of localities use RCV in elections, but only a handful of states use it in federal or statewide elections.

What states use RCV in federal or state elections?