Approval Voting for Party Primaries

Approval Voting is particularly powerful for picking the most acceptable candidate from a long list and this scenario is quite common in party primaries. If a lot of voters choose the option to vote for all of the primary candidates who they would also enthusiastically support in the general election, then the winner that emerges is more likely to do well in the general election. (This is true whether or not Approval Voting is used in the general election.)

Note that Approval Voting is not recommended for elections that have multiple winners. Thus states conducting presidential primaries with a "winner take all" system should use Approval Voting, while other states that apportion delegates to various candidates' vote totals should not. Approval Voting is not designed for so-called "apportion systems". It is for use for elections that are designed to selecting exactly one winner out of a list of candidates.

Another reason to use Approval Voting in primaries is to reduce the temptation for the candidates to "go negative." This is impotant for the party because clearly the party doesn't want the primary winner to emerge with vulnerabilities exposed during a nasty primary battle. (The Citizens for Approval Voting site has a web page that explains why Approval Voting encourages cleaner campaigning.)

Over time we can expect the reduction in campaign mudslinging that will occur once Apporval Voitng is being used will have another positive effect: better candidates should emerge from the sidelines to run for office. The stigma of competing for office as a politician should subside with Approval Voting since the mentality of "beat up the other guy" will be reduced. The result will be a better breed of officeholders who, we can all hope, ultimately perform better in office.