Challenges of Democratic Primaries as a Direct Democracy

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Democratic primaries present challenges as a direct democracy where party pressure limits the options available to voters, preventing them from selecting candidates they might prefer. Despite polls indicating the desire for more choices, the tightly structured primary field restricts the selection to a few candidates. This limitation reflects a flaw in direct democracy, as a small, highly informed and ideological portion of the electorate tends to participate in primaries, which can lead to non-representative outcomes. On the other hand, representative democracy can also be problematic if elected representatives diverge from the interests and values of their constituents, highlighting the dilemmas inherent in both systems.

We received thousands of questions in response to last week’s audio essay arguing that Democrats should consider choosing a candidate at August’s D.N.C. convention. Among them: Is there any chance Joe Biden would actually step down? Would an open convention be undemocratic? Is there another candidate who can bridge the progressive and moderate divide in the party? Doesn’t polling show other candidates losing to Donald Trump by even larger margins? Would a convention process leave Democrats enough time to mount a real general election campaign?

In this conversation, I’m joined by our senior editor Claire Gordon to answer these questions and many more.

Mentioned:

“Democrats Have a Better Option Than Biden” by Ezra Klein

“Here’s How an Open Democratic Convention Would Work” with Elaine Kamarck on The Ezra Klein Show

Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.

You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.

This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Annie Galvin. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris, with Mary Marge Locker. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing from Efim Shapiro. Our senior editor is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Rollin Hu and Kristin Lin. Original music by Isaac Jones. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. And special thanks to Sonia Herrero.