Freakonomics: how to improve the political system by combining features that already exist

I've been a fan of the Freakonomics podcast for years ...

The most recent concerns the ossified political system in the U.S. and some efforts to retool it. The focus is on an organization called Unite America.

I'm generally with the democrats, but I agree that the hyper-partisan setup isn't good for the country or anything else. Unite has three main goals:

• A nonpartisan "top four" primary ... the top four finishers go on to the general election
• Ranked-choice voting in the general election to pick the winner from these 4
• The removal of redistricting from the parties, giving it to a nonpartisan commission

Versions of all these exist currently:

• "top two" in Washington, California and Lousiana (maybe others)
• Ranked-choice voting in various cities around the country and in Maine, after an initiative battle with their wacky governor
• Nonpartisan redistricting in Arizona and there are efforts underway in Wisconsin and elsewhere

The thing about ranked-choice voting: you don't get a Trump or a Paul LePage. They're nobody's second choice.

This would leave creative independents a shot at the prize ... no longer would a vote for one of these be a "spoiler".

This is a years-long effort, but the pieces are in place ...