CONGRESS'S QUAGMIRE C
- Fix Federal Debt
- Jan 14
- 7 min read
FINAL-FIVE VOTING SYSTEM
PREFACE
Please remember that these posts are nonpartisan.
Why am I doing this? I.e. alerting citizens to the reasons why Congress keeps kicking big-problem cans down the road and emphasizing that we citizens must insist on fundamental improvements. The answer is: I am patriotic, very concerned, and feel that there is no better focus for my retirement years! I can’t resist quoting Albert Einstein one more time: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”
I enjoyed reading the Lexington page in the December 20 issue of The Economist. It discussed the courage required by members of one party in the Indiana state House in voting down a gerrymandering bill being pushed hard by party leaders. This courage is very rare in today’s politics. The article discussed John Kennedy and his Pulitzer-Prize-Winning book Profiles in Courage throughout, stressing the political importance of independent thinking and maintaining one’s own self-respect. I just ordered a replacement copy of that book, remembering seeing JFK at Independence Hall in Philadelphia and viewing the news of his death on a late-night TV in Spain when I was a naval officer there.
IMPACT OF PRIMARIES ON VOTERS AND CANDIDATES
Primary Rules for Congress by State (ChatGPT), repeated from January 5 post:
Rules dealing mainly with “who can VOTE” in a party’s primary
9 states Closed: Only registered party members can vote in that party’s primary. FindLaw
15 states Open: Any voter can choose any party’s primary without prior affiliation. FindLaw
23 states Semi-Closed/Partially Closed: Registered party members must vote in their party; unaffiliated voters may choose which party’s primary to vote in. NCSL
3 states Top-Two / Top-Four: All voters receive the same ballot; the top candidates advance to the general election regardless of party. GovFacts
Rules dealing with “who can RUN” in a primary, i.e. whether a state’s primary is “bipartisan or partisan”, (ChatGPT from Ballotpedia),
3 states Bipartisan (open)
47 states Partisan (closed to other parties)
Impact on Voters
A. Impact on the Independent Voter (not registered to a party)
9 states – cannot vote in either of the duopoly primaries
15 states – may choose a party primary without prior affiliation and use its ballot
23 states – may choose a party primary without prior affiliation and use its ballot
3 states – may vote in the single primary ballot on all candidates
B. Impact on the Voter Registered to Party X or Y, But Liking Some Candidates on another Ballot or Disliking Some Candidates on His or Her Party’s Ballot
9 states – may vote in the party’s primary, but not on the other party’s candidates
15 states – may vote in the party’s primary, but not on the other party’s candidates
23 states – may vote in the party’s primary, but not on the other party’s candidates
3 states – may vote in the single primary ballot on all candidates
C. Impact on the Voter Staunchly Devoted and Registered to Party X or Y
9 states – may vote in the party’s primary, but not on the other party’s candidates
15 states – may vote in the party’s primary, but not on the other party’s candidates
23 states – may vote in the party’s primary, but not on the other party’s candidates
3 states – may vote in the single primary ballot on all candidates
Summary of Impact on Voters
Now, we should be able to explain why nationwide turnout for primary elections is around 16-21% and a little higher in presidential years, in the 18-29% range?
The Independent voter (see A above) in over ¾ of the states must choose a party primary and vote only in it to be able to vote at all. Per a Gallup chart in the December 15 post, 43% of potential voters consider themselves as Independents. This is unfair in spades and a major factor in poor turnout for primaries, disinterest among citizens, and Congress’s Quagmire.
The more moderate member of party X or Y (see B above) can vote only in the appropriate party primary. This limits choices to one party’s candidates in all but 3 states. If one agrees with the statement in the December 15 post that the purpose of this primary is: to winnow candidates for an office down to a manageable number for the general election, then it should obvious that the impact of this restriction on moderate voters is a cause of increased extremism in Congress. Voters aren’t permitted to vote on the full range of candidates to advance to the general election. If parties want to have a party primary prior to the state-run open and nonpartisan primary, they should be able to do that.
The staunchly devoted party voter is shown in C above. This voter by definition is likely to vote for the party’s candidates that tend to be more extreme. So, of the voters discussed herein, this is the only one that gets virtually everything desired. Party X and Y will each choose their candidates for congressional Representatives and Senators and one or the other will win each race. How do we know that? Per ChatGPT, the percentages of members that belong to one of parties X or Y are 98% for the Senate and 99.6% for the House.
FINAL-FIVE PRIMARIES
Objective of the Final-Five Voting System
The objective of the final-five voting system is to improve problem solving in Congress by opening the doors to fair competition in primary election systems.
Introduction to the Final-Five Voting System
Congressional approval was 14% per Gallup in November 2025, and trust in government stood at 17% recently per the PEW Research Center. The reelection rate runs around 96% for House members and around 85% for Senators, virtually all from parties X and Y. WHY do voters keep sending the same folks back to Congress when less than 20% of them approve of the performance? BECAUSE the electoral systems were created by the duopoly to favor parties X and Y and block new competition. Voters who are not members of party X or Y are restricted in many states as shown earlier. Running by a non-party-member in a primary of party X or party Y is allowed in only 6% of the states, and state taxpayer funds pay for these highly partisan primaries, not the parties.
These primary systems were designed for the duopoly to select the voters, not for the voters to select members of Congress. Is it any coincidence that nationwide turnout for primary elections is around 16-21% and a little higher in presidential years, in the 18-29% range?
The primary election systems are the most damaging and egregious of the unfair voting methods; their overhaul is long overdue, so let’s explore what can be done.
It would be useful for readers to review the Substack post of January 5 that has preliminary information on Primary Elections.
Katherine Gehl and Michael Porter made the case for the Final-Five Voting System in their lengthy 2017 Harvard Business School article Why Competition in the Politics Industry is Failing America (Final-Four at that time) , and in their 2020 book The Politics Industry, How Political Innovation Can Break Partisan Gridlock and Save Our Democracy.
Three states are now using open and nonpartisan primaries: California and Washington use Top-Two systems, and Alaska uses Top-Four. These – like the Final-Five Voting System to be discussed in this article – allow all voters to participate and do not restrict candidates by party, allowing one or more of both of the duopoly parties as well as independents or other parties. The top two, four, or five candidates in these systems advance to the general election where, if there are more than two candidates, Ranked Choice Voting (now often called Instant Runoff Voting) allows the voter to rank the candidates; it always produces a majority winner, avoiding electing someone with a minority vote.
The Final-Five Voting System:
is a state-operated and funded single primary
admits voters from parties X and Y, other parties, and independents
permits candidates from parties X and Y and independents
permits more than one candidate per party
advances the top five vote winners to the general election
uses ranked choice voting (RCV)/Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) in the general election to allow voters to rank their choices and results in a majority winner without a separate runoff election.
What to Expect from Implementation of Final-Five Voting
much greater voter interest and participation, in both primary and general elections. This will force diversity of ideas and policies in campaigns.
an opportunity for every voter to choose from all candidates in the primary election – including independents and moderates
fair and increased competition among candidates from more than the two major parties
incenting campaigns focused on problem-solving rather than rigid and extreme ones designed to protect the two major parties
moderating the platforms and policies of all candidates, including those of parties X and Y – leading to candidates winning a seat in Congress to be more likely to collaborate with colleagues to solve problems
SUMMATION
Let me remind you of what Pogo said. It is sad to rely on Pogo for advice, but here it is:
We have met the enemy and he is us!
We citizens must insist – now – on changes to get the big problems of our country fixed!
What are some of the big problems – in no particular order?
much greater voter interest and participation, in both primary and general elections. This will force diversity of ideas and policies in campaigns.
an opportunity for every voter to choose from all candidates in the primary election – including independents and moderates
fair and increased competition among candidates from more than the two major parties
incenting campaigns focused on problem-solving rather than rigid and extreme ones designed to protect the two major parties
moderating the platforms and policies of all candidates, including those of parties X and Y – leading to candidates winning a seat in Congress to be more likely to collaborate with colleagues to solve problems
Regarding the first problem mentioned above, the constitution says that “The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof;…”. This seems to be reasonable, but the state legislatures are run by the same parties X and Y as Congress. So, we have found ourselves with the unfair practices laid out in this and the prior Substack posts. Article I, Section 4 of the constitution goes on to say “…but Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Place of Choosing Senators.” It is difficult today imagining Congress making fair election laws and the states – “laboratories of democracy” – most likely should retain that job. But Congress can clearly and concisely advocate that the states overhaul election laws to make them fair. Pogo indicated that WE THE CITIZENS MUST INSIST ON THIS!
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