R Street Testimony in Support of MA H 5003, Establishing All-Party State Primaries.
Testimony from:
Dr. Jonathan Madison, Governance Fellow, R Street Institute
In SUPPORT of House Bill 5003, “AN ACT to Implement all-party state primaries.”
March 31, 2026
Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions
Chairwoman Friedman, Chairwoman Peisch, and Members of the Committee:
My name is Dr. Jonathan Madison, and I am a governance fellow at the R Street Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy research organization. Our mission is to engage in policy analysis and outreach to promote free markets and limited, effective government in a variety of areas, including election administration. This is why we support House Bill 5003.
HB 5003 would replace Massachusetts’ current party-based primary system with an all-party primary in which all candidates, regardless of affiliation, appear on a single ballot and the top two finishers advance to the general election
Political parties, which are private organizations, effectively control access to the most meaningful stage of the electoral process. In many cases, especially in heavily one-party districts, the primary election—not the general election—determines the eventual officeholder. When that happens, the decisive contest occurs within a party’s internal selection process rather than in a broad, competitive election open to all voters.[1] This problem is accentuated in Massachusetts, where multiple races end up being uncontested or uncompetitive.[2]
An all-party primary system shifts that dynamic by ensuring that all candidates compete on the same ballot and that advancement to the general election depends on voter support. This ensures that the candidates who advance have demonstrated broader appeal across the electorate, not just within a narrower partisan base. It also increases the likelihood of two viable options on the general election ballot and thus the need for candidates to appeal to voters even if their party is dominant in a certain area. This results in greater accountability for office holders and more meaningful choices for voters.[3]
Ultimately, this bill moves Massachusetts toward a system in which electoral outcomes more closely reflect voter preferences. Encouraging broader competition and reducing reliance on party-controlled primaries strengthens accountability and improves the quality of representation. For these reasons, we respectfully encourage a favorable report of HB 5003.
Thank you,
Dr. Jonathan Madison
Governance Fellow
R Street Institute
385-500-7537
jmadison@rstreet.org
[1] The Primary Problem (Unite America Institute, 2021), https://www.uniteamericainstitute.org/research/the-primary-problem.
[2] Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report: Vol. 14 (Ballotpedia, 2024), https://ballotpedia.org/Annual_State_Legislative_Competitiveness_Report:_Vol._14,_2024.
[3] Matt Germer and Ryan Williamson, The Good, the Bad and the In-Between: Washington’s Implementation of Top-Two Voting (R Street Institute, 2023), https://www.rstreet.org/research/the-good-the-bad-and-the-in-between-washingtons-implementation-of-top-two-voting/.