Why Primary Reform Can Save Our Democracy

Hi Everyone and Welcome Back!

This week on The Nick Halaris Show we are featuring civic entrepreneur, Nick Troiano. Nick is the founder and Executive Director of Unite America, a philanthropic venture fund focused on nonpartisan election reform, and the author of a very important new book, The Primary Solution. I had the opportunity to read an advance copy of the book to prepare for the interview and I was blown away. For all those who are concerned about our democracy this is a must-read and a meaningful contribution to the cause. 

As you’ll hear in this not to be missed episode, not only is Nick an incredibly bold civic activist, he’s also one of the most effective. He and his colleagues at Unite America already have several big wins under their belts, including comprehensive primary reform in Alaska in 2019 that is already producing some rather encouraging results, and they have big plans in the works. Animated by his noble mission, Nick is fast becoming one of the most important voices in the ongoing fight to save our democracy from extreme polarization, corruption, and autocracy. 

Ready to dive in? Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music and Youtube or on your favorite podcast platform.

I wanted to have Nick on the show to explore why he’s so convinced that primary reform is the key to repairing our democratic function here in America. My takeaway after reading his book and getting a chance to talk with him in-depth is that he’s on to something here! Tune-in to this fascinating and optimistic episode to learn:

• The history of the ever-evolving election landscape in America and why election reform has been such a constant feature of our democracy

• The surprising diversity in state election laws and processes

• How we got ourselves into a situation where our Congress has record low approval ratings and yet we keep electing the same people over and over again

• How primaries came to be weaponized by the ideological extremes of both parties

• The convincing case for why reforming primary elections, especially in the 15 states that still have closed primaries, can be such an effective way to address our extreme polarization problem

  &

• Much, much more

Stay tuned to the end to hear how you can join the cause and find new meaning in your life by asking what Nick considers to be the fundamental question of citizenship: “what can we do to leave the world a little bit better off than we found it?”

As always, I hope you all enjoy this episode. Thanks for tuning in! 

Love this episode? Please rate, subscribe, and review on your favorite podcast platform to help more users find our show. 🙏 Thank you