In the last year, the state legislature in Nebraska has voted to abolish the death penalty, raise the gas tax, and give driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants youth—actions that each required lawmakers in one of the nation’s most conservative states to override the veto of a new Republican governor.

That flurry of ostensibly liberal victories didn’t come about because of an electoral earthquake at the polls. It occurred in large part because Nebraska’s legislature is run differently than any state in the country. Since 1934, the unicameral chamber has been officially nonpartisan, and so are the elections that form it: Primary contests determine the top two candidates, who then face off in a general election regardless of party identification.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/10/what-if-the-parties-didnt-run-primaries/411022/?google_editors_picks=true
 

Last edited by Just Fred (10/19/2015 9:08 am)