Wisconsin’s lawmakers from across the aisle are teaming up to develop a new election system. They are proposing that the state should switch to a final-five voting system which they believe will do a better job than the current system in encouraging bipartisanship and compromise. This article is By Jane C. Timm and is published by NBC News:

A bipartisan group of Wisconsin lawmakers proposed a new kind of election system for congressional races last week, arguing that the state’s existing system exacerbates partisanship and discourages compromise.

Currently in Wisconsin, the winners of party primaries compete in the general election. The bill, which was proposed Friday, calls for switching to “Final-Five” voting, which would require nonpartisan, single-ballot primaries in federal races. The top five candidates would then proceed to the general election when voters would vote on ranked-choice ballots to determine winners through instant runoffs. Last year, Alaska voters approved a similar “Top Four” measure by ballot initiative.

“Right now, members of Congress really don’t have the freedom to work in a bipartisan fashion because they can be taken out in a low-turnout party primary,” said a co-sponsor, Sen. Jeff Smith, a Democrat from Eau Claire.

Read the full story here.