The story of primary elections in America part two: The US vs the world

Dispensing with smoke-filled rooms and party bosses in favour of open primaries certainly sounds more democratic. But, both in the US and other democracies, there are unintended consequences.

By Corbin Duncan

This is part two of a three-part series. Part one, which explains how primaries and the permanent campaign became part of US political life, can be found here. Part three, which considers potential solutions, will be released next week.

Established by the Democratic National Committee in response to the rising progressive movement of the 1960s, the McGovern-Fraser Commission filed its report on internal party reform in 1971. Its headline claim: “The cure for the ills of democracy is more democracy.”