"Eric Bronner risked his life for eight years as a US Naval flight officer catapulting off aircraft carriers in fighter jets. But now his mission is even more daunting: Saving American democracy. As the head of Veterans for All Voters, he's building leverage by organizing former service members. They're one of the most persuasive groups still left in a nation with rampant polarization, distrust in institutions, and low social cohesion."
"Bronner's group aims to deploy its more than 500 nationwide volunteers to canvas in support of ballot initiatives to establish nonpartisan primary elections across the country. They argue that in many cases, the nonpartisan primaries would be accompanied by what's called ranked choice voting: a system in which voters choose multiple candidates according to their order of preference. Ranked choice can influence voting behavior and decision-making."
"A smattering of political science research finds that such methods would unwind the political paralysis caused by the centrifugal forces spinning American politics toward extremes. Under conventional primary rules, candidates and parties are incentivized to campaign from ever-increasing left and right fringes."
Eric Bronner leads Veterans for All Voters and organizes over 500 former service members to support election reform initiatives. Veterans are portrayed as trusted messengers capable of rebuilding trust and civic cohesion amid polarization. The organization focuses on establishing nonpartisan primaries often paired with ranked-choice voting, which allows voters to rank multiple candidates by preference. Research indicates that these reforms could change primary incentives, reduce political paralysis, and counteract the forces pushing candidates toward ideological extremes, thereby widening political choice and encouraging broader candidate appeals.
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